Oklahomans already are the nation’s least healthy. Imagine the consequences if Congress fails to preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Ninety-four percent of Sooners who rely on the federal exchange for their health insurance also rely on the premium tax credits to be able to afford it, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
That’s nearly 300,000 who could find even ObamaCare’s ever-increasing coverage costs unaffordable. A third of a million only a heartbeat away from financial ruin if their health fails – the odds of which are higher in Oklahoma than any other state.
If the enhanced tax credits – enacted by Congress in 2021 as a component of the American Rescue Plan Act – are allowed to expire this month, the average premiums will double.
According to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities research, a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 would see their premiums skyrocket from about $7,200 annually to more than $30,000.
Working-class Oklahomans who no longer can afford health insurance that affords access to routine care would be more likely to face cataclysmic health crises, exposing them to premature death or financial ruin.
It would impact health care providers, as well – particularly in already under-served rural Oklahoma.
“These tax credits are what keep families covered and prevent financial hardship for small businesses,” said Julie McKone, executive director of the non-partisan Oklahoma Families for Affordable Healthcare [OKFAHC].
“Congress must ensure that Oklahomans do not face catastrophic increases in their premiums on January 1. Our communities simply cannot absorb these cost shocks.”
How bad could it be? OKFAHC estimates costs for a Tulsa family of four earning $80,000 would nearly double – from $3,119 to $6,041. For a 40-year-old in Oklahoma City earning $31,000, premiums would soar from $622 to $1,249. A Seminole couple could see more than a quarter of their annual income gobbled up by the premium increases – from $6,632 to more than $25,000.
The Republican-controlled Congress’ refusal to extend the tax credits – or to devise an alternative that could help keep Americans of modest means covered – led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
President Trump and GOP House and Senate leaders now promise to come up with an alternative to ObamaCare – a promise they’ve made since 2014 when a Democratic-controlled Congress created the health insurance exchange.
A promise on which they’ve never delivered.
The sad irony, of course, is that many of the nearly 300,000 Oklahomans in danger of losing their health coverage at year’s end likely voted not only for Trump, but also for the state’s all-Republican D.C. delegation.
It might be tempting for those who fervently oppose Trump and his congressional lapdogs to consider it just desserts for their ballot choices.
But the truth is, Oklahoma’s bottom-of-the-barrel health outcomes affect us all. Family, friends, neighbors lost prematurely. Higher insurance premiums to offset uncompensated care. Lost economic opportunities because of a smaller available pool of healthy workers.
Side note: The looming health care premium crisis isn’t the only one facing Congress – and workaday Sooners. The government shutdown that temporarily halted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program forced some Oklahomans to choose between food and rent – leading to a spike in evictions.
Further complicating the nation’s affordable housing crisis is a proposed two-year limit on rental assistance, potentially impacting more than 30,000 Oklahomans, more than 18,000 of whom are children.
Arguably, Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to help resolve these crises. Fourth District U.S. Rep. Tom Cole is chair of the House’s most powerful and consequential committee – appropriations. Junior Sen. Markwayne Mullin is Trump’s Senate consigliere.
Will they continue to prioritize their personal political power and ideology over the needs of working-class Sooners? We will know shortly.
