MEDIA RELEASE
NOV 9, 2025
Consumer Advocates Blast Congress’s Failure to Extend Healthcare Tax Credits as Senate Moves to Reopen Government
DENVER – Tonight, the Republican-led U.S. Senate voted to break the filibuster in order to reopen the government, without a deal to secure affordable healthcare by extending ACA tax credits. The deal included a promise by the Senate to vote on an extension of enhanced premium tax credits in December, even though open enrollment for the ACA market began on November 1.
This vote allows the Senate to move the government funding resolution to the Senate floor for debate and a vote. Once the resolution is passed in the Senate, it’ll head to the House floor for debate and vote, and then to President Trump’s desk, and our government can reopen. Without the extension of the tax credits, Coloradans who buy their health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado are seeing their premiums double on average for next year. This year, it will be critical for consumers to shop around to find savings.
Mannat Singh, Executive Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, released the following statement:
The health and well-being of millions of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, are in the hands of President Trump and Republicans in Congress. This agreement is most likely a delay tactic by the GOP to let the tax credits expire at the end of the year.
Republicans’ vaguely promising to vote on – not necessarily pass – healthcare subsidies in December is not enough; they need to extend the tax credits now. Delaying the extension of the tax credits will cause chaos and confusion, as states will have to implement changes quickly over a month into open enrollment.
Republicans have shown they are willing to hold hungry families hostage in order to strip Americans of needed healthcare coverage, all while giving tax breaks to billionaires.
Roughly 80,000 Coloradans will lose coverage if Congress fails to extend the tax credits in December. Coloradans can’t afford any more cuts to healthcare. These actions don’t just cause harm now; they have long-term, if not permanent, consequences. Congress needs to ensure that Coloradans can afford to keep their healthcare coverage.