It was in early 2021 that Congressional Democrats passed & President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which among other things dramatically expanded & enhanced the original premium subsidy formula of the Affordable Care Act, finally bringing the financial aid sliding income scale up to the level it should have been in the first place over a decade earlier. In addition to beefing up the subsidies along the entire 100 - 400% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) income scale, the ARPA also eliminated the much-maligned "Subsidy Cliff" at 400% FPL, wherein a household earning even $1 more than that had all premium subsidies cut off immediately, requiring middle-class families to pay full price for individual market health insurance policies. Here's what the original ACA premium subsidy formula looked like compared to the current, enhanced subsidy formula: Unfortunately, the ARPA's subsidy enhancements included a major caveat: They were only in place for three years, originally scheduled to terminate effective December 31, 2023 (they were retroactive to the beginning of 2021). The good news is that this sunset date was bumped out by another two years as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022.
It was in early 2021 that Congressional Democrats passed & President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which among other things dramatically expanded & enhanced the original premium subsidy formula of the Affordable Care Act, finally bringing the financial aid sliding income scale up to the level it should have been in the first place over a decade earlier. In addition to beefing up the subsidies along the entire 100 - 400% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) income scale, the ARPA also eliminated the much-maligned "Subsidy Cliff" at 400% FPL, wherein a household earning even $1 more than that had all premium subsidies cut off immediately, requiring middle-class families to pay full price for individual market health insurance policies. Here's what the original ACA premium subsidy formula looked like compared to the current, enhanced subsidy formula: Unfortunately, the ARPA's subsidy enhancements included a major caveat: They were only in place for three years, originally scheduled to terminate effective December 31, 2023 (they were retroactive to the beginning of 2021). The good news is that this sunset date was bumped out by another two years as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022.
It was in early 2021 that Congressional Democrats passed & President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which among other things dramatically expanded & enhanced the original premium subsidy formula of the Affordable Care Act, finally bringing the financial aid sliding income scale up to the level it should have been in the first place over a decade earlier. In addition to beefing up the subsidies along the entire 100 - 400% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) income scale, the ARPA also eliminated the much-maligned "Subsidy Cliff" at 400% FPL, wherein a household earning even $1 more than that had all premium subsidies cut off immediately, requiring middle-class families to pay full price for individual market health insurance policies. Here's what the original ACA premium subsidy formula looked like compared to the current, enhanced subsidy formula: Unfortunately, the ARPA's subsidy enhancements included a major caveat: They were only in place for three years, originally scheduled to terminate effective December 31, 2023 (they were retroactive to the beginning of 2021). The good news is that this sunset date was bumped out by another three years as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022.
Charles Gaba ✡️