The American Rescue Plan Extends Affordable Care Act Subsidies To Lower Premiums for Arizonans

After various attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the years, many families with ACA health care have seen their premiums increase. A small portion of those families accessed subsidies to help cover the cost difference. When the American Rescue Plan extended those subsidies, millions of Americans, including Jodi Smith, saw their premiums significantly decrease.

When Jodi retired from her county job, she found the premiums for her state-provided health care were far higher than premiums under the ACA. She enrolled in ACA health care from its beginning and found her premiums averaged around $300 to $400 per month after applying subsidies. But after President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, ACA subsidies were expanded and saved millions of Americans hundreds of dollars on their premiums. Jodi saw her monthly premiums drop from around $400 to $116. The savings have helped ease the pressure on Jodi and her husband’s fixed income. When Jodi qualifies for Medicare next year, she looks forward to more-affordable costs from the Inflation Reduction Act.

For years, Americans who struggled to afford health care had incomes just above the threshold to qualify for ACA subsidies. Without this help, they continued to pay hundreds of dollars more each month, despite not being able to afford it. Extending access to ACA subsidies boosts both the physical and economic health of working-class Americans.