Raleigh, NC – Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) announced that the American Rescue Plan has made 87,000 Second District residents eligible for significantly lower health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs through the individual marketplace. Enacted on March 11th, the American Rescue Plan substantially expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits to reduce health care costs and make health insurance available to millions of Americans.
“The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the dysfunction of our health care system – a system that costs too much and doesn’t cover enough people,” said Congresswoman Ross. “I voted to pass the American Rescue Plan in part because it removes barriers that millions of families face in accessing high-quality, affordable health care. I’m thrilled that so many more individuals and families in Wake County are now paying less each month for coverage because of the tax credits we included in that legislation. Now we need to make these tax credits permanent so that people in North Carolina can continue to save money and access the care they need.”
The Biden administration opened a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) in February 2021 to ensure vulnerable Americans had access to health care during the pandemic. In the Second District, there are an estimated 47,000 individuals who do not have health insurance who are eligible for coverage. With the enactment of the American Rescue Plan, nearly all of these individuals are eligible for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace at no cost. Another 40,000 individuals who currently have health insurance are eligible for reduced costs through the American Rescue Plan, with the average household eligible to save $3,600 in health insurance premiums annually.
With the American Rescue Plan’s expanded tax credits, an older couple with a household income of $45,000 could see their monthly premiums cut in half, allowing them to save $1,896 per year. A family of four with a household income of $106,000 could see their monthly premiums cut by more than half, creating $11,364 in savings that can now be used to cover other household costs.
Congresswoman Ross has been a strong advocate for the expansion of Medicaid in non-expansion states like North Carolina. She introduced the Medicaid Saves Lives Act with Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) to expand access to health care coverage for over four million low-income Americans. She has also called for lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 or lower, which could open the door for millions to access Medicare.
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