Deb Dauphinais is considering something she never thought she’d do – forgoing purchasing health insurance for next year.
The co-owner of Bicycle East in Glastonbury, Steve, have been purchasing health insurance through Access Health CT thanks to Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Those subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, at which time the Dauphinais’ insurance premiums would increase four-fold.
“It’s scary, it’s not something that I ever thought we’d ever be in a position to have to do,” Deb Dauphinais said about the prospect of not having insurance.
U.S. Senate leaders agreed to a vote sometime in December as some Democrats agreed on a funding bill to reopen the federal government.
No date is set for that vote and a majority of Republicans have given on indication they support extending those subsidies, leaving Dauphinais and others like her facing tough decisions.
She said her premiums this year were roughly $7,000 for a couple, but that would jump to more than $27,000 next year.
The plan also has a $6,500 deductible per person, creating the possibility of $40,000 in total medical expenses.
Dauphinais said she and her husband are healthy, so they’re considering taking the risk of not having insurance at all and paying any expenses out-of-pocket.
“It is of course scary if we end up with $20,000 of medical expenses, we’ll be OK,” she said. “It’ll be a really big problem. There a lot of people who are worse off than us. But that will be what we paid in premium, or not even what we paid in premium. It would be a really serious accident, really serious illness for us to end up losing in this situation.”
Dauphinais and her husband used to purchase a group plan for their employees, but determined it was getting too expensive. The couple is hoping to expand early next year by hiring a third worker.
When Congress extended subsidies under the ACA, they found it was more affordable for themselves and their employees to purchase individual plans.
Now, Dauphinais said it’s too expensive to once again buy a group plan.
Even if the Senate agrees to extend some or all subsidies, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Speaker) voiced doubt that he’d go along with any deal that didn’t include healthcare reforms.
“The Democrats created it, the Democrats broke it, the Democrats are driving the cost up,” Johnson said. “Who you trust to fix healthcare? It’s the Republican party.”
Democrats remained steadfast that the subsidies should be extended. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said Republicans have no plan for reforms.
“Instead, they ought to be extending these tax credits because they’re so vital to these small business people, moderate income folks who depend on them,” she said.
Low-income households will continue to get subsidies for insurance. The extended subsidies helped more families buy insurance through the ACA exchange.
Republicans have said the tax credits are unaffordable long-term and have helped subsidized healthcare for people earning more than 400% federal poverty limit.
But Dauphinais said it’s also helped middle-class small business owners, noting the $40,000 in potential medical costs would be nearly half what she and her husband earn in a year.
“We’re doing OK, we’re doing fine, we pay our bills, but we’re certainly not some big corporation making tons and tons of money,” she said.
