Maryland residents who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act may see significant increases in premiums next year due to the potential loss of the federal premium tax credit.
Maryland insurers are proposing a 17% average hike for premiums next year, stating the loss of the credits as a major factor in losing potential customers.
“The Maryland Insurance Administration is closely working with the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange on designing a state subsidy to help mitigate the impact of these losses,” said Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant. “Recent actions by Congress have the potential to further lower tax credits for Marylanders to help purchase health coverage and further increase rates in this critical market. We will be examining rates filed by carriers closely in the coming months and urge Congress to take action to address affordability of health coverage.”
The Republican spending bill that has already passed the House, removes the tax credit and slashes Medicaid, potentially forcing millions of people off of their health insurance.
According to the Medicare Rights Center, the credit, which reduces the cost of health premiums, is responsible for giving 44 million people in the nation health insurance.
With the loss of the credits, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that “the number of uninsured people will rise by 2.2 million in 2026, by 3.7 million in 2027, and by 3.8 million, on average, in each year over the 2026–2034 period.”
If Congress does not get rid of the credits, premium rates in Maryland will increase an average of 8%, according to the Maryland Insurance Administration. That number is more in line with years past.
Not all rates will go up 17%, the number is only an average of all of the proposed increases from the seven companies that offer insurance on the ACA marketplace in Maryland.
The increases by carrier range from 8.1% to 18.7%.
About 500,000 Marylanders use ACA plans for insurance.
Companies offering plans on the marketplace are posting profits.
For example, Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest provider, reported a $240 million profit in 2024 when the tax credits were in effect. According to ProPublica, Carefirst CEO Brian Pieninck was paid about $4.4 million in compensation last year.
MIA says it has the opportunity to look at and talk with insurance companies and ask hard questions about the rate increases, but ultimately cannot deny the hikes.
