HARRISBURG, Pa. — It’s the place to go for affordable health care in Pennsylvania.
"If you come to Pennie, what you pay is based on what you make," said Devon Trolley, executive director of Pennie.
More than 435,000 Pennsylvanians enroll in health insurance coverage through Pennie, a program for lower-income patients backed by tax subsidies.
A 2021 federal tax credit expansion gave Pennsylvania an additional $500 million per year to run the program and opened up options for middle-income families for the first time.
"We’ve seen a 30% increase in enrollment through Pennie since those enhanced premium tax credits were implemented," Trolley said. "That’s about 100,000 Pennsylvanians."
Trolley said those tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, leaving Pennsylvanians holding the bag.
"Unless Congress at the federal level takes action to extend them, everyone who is enrolled in Pennie will see significant premium increases for 2026," she said.
Trolley expects an 81% increase on average, but said older Pennsylvanians and those in rural areas could see premiums more than double.
Right now, a 60-year-old Pennsylvania couple making $83,000 is eligible to enroll in Pennie and would pay $586 monthly on insurance premiums, about 8.5% of their income.
When the credits expire, the same couple would no longer be eligible and would be forced to pay $2,800 monthly, or about 40% of their income.
Trolley said insurance companies could decide to increase prices further if residents decide to drop coverage.
"We think just simply because of the cost increases we are going to see people make that difficult decision to drop coverage," she said.
Pennie sent a letter to Pennsylvania Senators and U.S. Representatives explaining the potential impact.
Trolley hopes lawmakers will consider an extension by early spring as insurance companies begin creating their products next year.