The typical working-class family in Virginia has a lot on its plate. One part of their finances they shouldn’t have to worry about: affording an emergency room or doctor’s visit. And for the past several years, enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs) have helped make their health care coverage affordable, providing peace of mind for more than 350,000 Virginians across the state.
But unless Congress acts by Sept. 30, those tax credits will expire at the end of the year. The consequences for Virginia will be devastating — soaring premiums, lost coverage, rising medical debt and ripple effects that will drag down our entire economy.
For a state that prides itself on hard work and opportunity, turning back the clock on affordable health care would be nothing short of a major setback, and we are running out of time to preserve the EPTCs.
Since their inception, the effect has been clear: EPTCs lower costs for Virginians across the board. Families earning modest incomes saw their monthly premiums drop dramatically. Workers who did not have employer-provided health care options could afford quality coverage from the insurance marketplace. This left families and individuals with more money in their pockets to go toward other essentials and the economy.
But if EPTCs expire, all of that would change. An average Virginia family of four would pay more than $4,500 more in annual premiums; a lower income family could see their premiums increase by more than 200%. In practice, this will mean working families choosing between health insurance and groceries. Parents delaying doctor’s visits.
Small businesses are struggling to hold on to workers. And for Virginia’s most vulnerable, including rural communities, the disparities in care will only grow larger.
The economic stakes can’t be ignored either. Studies show that when people lose access to affordable coverage, not only do their personal finances suffer, but local economies do too. Virginia is projected to lose $413 million in state economic output and more than $250 million in state GDP. That’s to say nothing of the 2,000 jobs that will be lost, almost half of which are in the health care sector — critical jobs in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices at a time when providers are already scarce in some parts of the commonwealth. Losing the EPTCs will not just affect one family’s checkbook; it affects our entire commonwealth’s economic future.
Virginia Organizing was founded on the belief that every person deserves dignity, justice and a fair shot at opportunity. That mission has guided our work for decades, from defending social services to fighting economic inequality. When it comes to health care, we work toward a future where no Virginian is forced to go without coverage simply because they cannot afford it. The EPTCs bring us closer to that future, reducing racial, geographic and economic disparities in health access and giving families the care they deserve.
Our elected representatives in Congress have a choice to make: Maintain a lifeline that keeps families healthier, more financially stable and more productive, or cut it, putting the well-being of the commonwealth and our people in jeopardy. As advocates, as neighbors, and as a community-driven organization, we urge lawmakers to protect and extend the EPTCs when they pass budget legislation in September. Too much progress has been made to let affordability slip away.
Health care is not a luxury. It’s the foundation for families to live, work and thrive. For the sake of Virginia’s families and our economy, let’s not allow that foundation to crumble.
Dr. Mack Bonner of Virginia Beach is a retired physician who served as medical director at Harlem Hospital in New York City, Maryland deputy secretary for public health and regional medical director for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Alex Cole of Newport News is a member of Virginia Organizing.