by Mitti Hicks
January 2, 2026
Premium payments for healthcare are set to increase by an average of 114% for the tens of millions of people who use tax credits for health insurance on the Marketplace.
As 2026 begins, millions of Americans are facing a spike in healthcare premiums after Congress failed to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. Now, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are working on a bipartisan plan that they say needs President Donald Trump’s blessing.
Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch told NPR that he and other senators are working on bipartisan legislation that could be a possible healthcare compromise.
“We could extend the credits for a couple of years, we could reform it,” said Welch. “You could put an income cap, you could have a copay, you could have penalties on insurers who commit fraud. You actually could introduce some cost-saving reductions that have bipartisan support.”
But for any healthcare plan to work, Welch says Trump needs to step in.
“It would require that President Trump play a major role in this, because he has such influence over the Republican majority in the House and even in the Senate,” Welch added.
Americans Are Paying An Average of 114% More for Healthcare As Subsidies Expire
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, premium payments for healthcare are set to increase by an average of 114% for the tens of millions of people who use tax credits for health insurance on the Marketplace. The increase comes after the temporary tax credits for adults that Congress extended under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expired on Dec. 31.
Increasing healthcare costs were the central issue for Democrats during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. GOP lawmakers promised to work with Democrats on a plan to keep health insurance affordable for Americans, but no deal was reached before Congress went home for a holiday break.
As NPR points out, Trump has remained hands-off on the bitter subsidy fight. Now that the increase is indeed a reality for millions of Americans, Sen. Welch believes Trump will have no choice but to step in and help lawmakers come up with a solution.
“A farmer in Vermont, their premium is going to go from $900 a month to $3,200 a month,” Welch said. “So they’re going to really face sticker shock. There’s going to be a secondary impact, because the hospitals, particularly in rural areas, are going to lose revenue.”
The senator is expected to return to Washington, D.C. from recess on Jan. 5, and the House will return on Jan. 6.
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