Loss of health care tax credit looms for Oklahomans
- OKFAHC
- Sep 18, 2025
- 3 min read
State health industry says results will be extreme
By : Kathryn McNutt / The Journal Record / September 19, 2025
A coalition of health care providers and patient advocates worried that health insurance premiums will skyrocket for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans in 2026 are urging the state’s federal delegation to act before that happens.
Temporary tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire at year’s end.
“We’re in trouble if we don’t extend these,” Julie McKone said. “It will be sudden, and it will be extreme.”
McKone, executive director of Oklahoma Families for Affordable Healthcare, was among the coalition members who traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with state delegation staffers Wednesday about the issue.
“These credits are especially vital for small business owners, farmers and working parents who don’t have access to job-based insurance but still want quality care for their families,” McKone said.
The premium tax credit (PTC) helps eligible individuals and families cover the cost for their health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
Congress temporarily expanded eligibility in 2021 by removing the income limit for receiving PTCs. That resulted in a 75% increase in ACA plan enrollment in the state, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said. More than 300,000 Oklahomans currently are enrolled in the plans.
The enhanced credits are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
“Extending them is the most direct way Congress can protect the health and financial security of Oklahoma families,” McKone said. “Honestly, I’m very concerned that there will be no action on this.”
In March, Mulready issued a warning that Oklahomans enrolled in ACA plans could see substantial increases in premiums beginning in 2026.
“A permanent extension of the $338 billion in enhanced federal health insurance subsidies is looking more unlikely,” Mulready said. “While there might be other potential solutions considered by Congress this year, Oklahoma’s leaders and citizens need to be prepared for the consequences of these subsidies ending with significant changes in health insurance costs anticipated.”
The coalition noted that the loss of the enhanced PTCs would mean a family of four earning $80,000 a year would see their annual premium nearly double from $3,119 to $6,041, and a couple earning $90,000 would see their premium increase 286% from $6,632 to $25,631, more than 28% of their household income.
“That is stark. It will have broad impacts, not just for the individuals (on ACA plans),” said Haley Faulkenberry, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Health Plans. “This is going to impact all Oklahomans.”
Faulkenberry, a coalition member who was on the D.C. trip, said some people who lose the tax credit will choose not to purchase health insurance. The result will be that only the least healthy people will be insured under the plans which will cause premiums to rise, she said.
The uninsured will use emergency rooms for their health care, requiring hospitals to provide uncompensated care and increase their rates for paying patients, she said.
“This is one of the top issues being discussed in D.C. right now,” Faulkenberry said. “Our delegation is concerned about the full amount this would cost to extend the enhanced premium tax credit.”
The Associated Press reports there is bipartisan support in Congress for extension, but the credits are still in danger of expiring because Republicans and Democrats are at odds over how to do it.
Comments