[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S6657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, there are life experiences which you carry 
for the rest of your life because they are so meaningful and change the 
course of your life.
  I will never forget what it was like to be the father of our new baby 
when she had a serious medical condition and I had no health insurance. 
I never felt more helpless than I did at that moment. It is a terrible 
feeling I wouldn't wish on anybody. That experience comes to mind when 
I think about healthcare. I thought about it when we passed the 
Affordable Care Act in 2010 and again when we expanded the ACA premier 
tax credit in 2021 and 2022, making insurance more affordable for tens 
of millions of Americans. We set a record.
  There were more Americans covered by health insurance as a result of 
those actions than ever in our history. Unfortunately, my Republican 
colleagues are preparing to subject millions of Americans to the 
stress-filled sleepless nights as part of heading up a family when you 
have no health insurance.

  At the end of this year, the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits will 
expire. If they are not renewed, insurance premiums will spike across 
the country for the people least likely to be able to pay, and millions 
and millions of Americans will lose their healthcare.
  These tax credits subsidize the price of healthcare for lower and 
middle-income families, ensuring that premiums for marketplace health 
plans never exceed 8.5 percent of the families' income. This cap on 
premiums makes healthcare affordable for millions of Americans. Some 
only have to pay as little as $10 a month for coverage; others pay 
almost nothing.
  Since the creation of these enhanced tax credits, the number of 
Americans enrolled in ACA plans has almost doubled, from 11.4 million 
in 2020 to 24.3 million in 2024. These credits are especially important 
for people living in small towns, as they often have few options and 
higher insurance premiums. The expiration of these tax credits as part 
of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill will devastate families of limited 
means and threaten the existence of hospitals all across the country, 
including in my State of Illinois. The people who run these hospitals 
in small towns, which are absolutely critical for healthcare, for the 
local economy, are bracing for the Medicaid cuts that are coming, again 
as part of the Republican Big Beautiful Bill.
  If Republicans allow these tax credits to expire, insurance premiums 
are going to skyrocket by more than 75 percent for most marketplace 
plans. In Illinois, a family of four making $126,000 can see their 
annual premiums increase by $7,500. A couple making $82,000 can see 
more than a $17,000 increase. These price increases can be too much to 
bear for many families who are already dealing with some of the impacts 
of the tariff policies.
  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 4 million people will 
become uninsured because of the ACA credit expiration. That is 4 
million people who won't know if they will be able to afford a hospital 
bill if their child has an injury; 4 million people who might have to 
forego a doctor's visit because they can't afford it. Millions of 
people might be forced to put off a dentist visit because they lost 
their healthcare.
  The expiration of these health insurance subsidies will be 
devastating for families across America in red States and blue States 
alike, and it will deal yet another blow to the American public who 
were promised by this President that he will bring down their cost of 
living.
  I had two of my constituents contact me about this issue, Kristin 
from Rochester, IL, just outside Springfield said:

       As a previously very healthy person recently diagnosed with 
     a long-term degenerative disease, health care is at the top 
     of my mind.
       Without health insurance, one of my multiple medications 
     would cost $7500. I will likely be on that or something 
     similar for the rest of my life.
       I'm a freelance writer--

  She writes--

     so I depend on the ACA marketplace for insurance. Without 
     those subsidies, I would be unable to cover the cost of my 
     care.

  And Zachary from Highland, IL, in Madison County near St. Louis 
writes:

       Please do everything you can to protect the Affordable Care 
     Act. It has been a lifesaver for my family.
       We have four children and starting our own business is not 
     easy when factoring in healthcare costs.
       It would ruin us if we lost the benefits from the 
     [Affordable Care Act]. It would ruin us economically and 
     physically if we lost these big beautiful benefits from the 
     ACA.

  Real people, real life, real problems, brought on by the passage of 
the big beautiful budget bill of Donald Trump.
  When these credits for health insurance hit, we are going to hear 
about it all over the United States, and it is just a matter of days 
before they are announced. Now it is time to do something meaningful.
  Let us come together on a bipartisan basis and say that this was a 
serious mistake. Families of limited and modest means need a helping 
hand for health insurance. Let's give them the peace of mind to know 
that the most expensive medical bills will be covered.
  I yield the floor.

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