Virginia Organizing posts concrete steps so you can take timely and important action! SEE CURRENT ACTIONS BELOW.
Tips to making your action effective: be polite but firm (don’t yell or curse or get angry); give your name and where you are from; tell whoever answers the phone what your concern is and why; ask for the official position on your issue; and remember, the person answering the phone is just doing his or her job..
Don’t forget, you can connect with a local chapter to work for social, racial, economic, environmental, and gender justice at the local level. Email us at info@virginia-organizing.org so we can help you connect to one of our community organizers.
Take action: Tell Congress to stop healthcare costs from rising
Congress is back in session and we are putting them to work – save the advanced premium tax credits!
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act extended tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy but failed to extend tax credits that help people afford health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange. The enhanced tax credits for the ACA insurance premiums are set to expire at the end of 2025 if Congress doesn’t intervene now. These credits have helped to reduce healthcare costs for customers enrolled in the insurance marketplace since 2021, and allowing them to expire would have a devastating impact on millions of individuals and families across the country.
On average, the expiration of the enhanced tax credits will result in an over 75% increase in enrollee premium payments, according to KFF. Additionally, premiums in Virginia are set to rise on average by 20.5% as insurance companies request rate increases in light of funding cuts and anticipated disenrollment. Not only would millions feel the burden of unreasonably high healthcare costs, but a recent analysis has also predicted that 310,000 Virginians could lose healthcare coverage altogether. Click here to use KFF’s online tool to calculate how much your insurance marketplace premiums may increase without the tax credits.
Right now, Congress is negotiating a budget for FY26. The current budget expires at the end of September. If they can’t decide on a budget moving forward, or a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels, there will be a government shutdown. A deal to avert a government shutdown may include extending these vital enhanced premium tax credits for at least one year. But it will only happen if we tell our legislators the credits need to be extended and permanently!
Extending the tax credits could even provide additional time for insurance companies to adjust pricing if Congress were to vote to extend the tax credits before the end of the year – although, it is unclear how complicated that process could be. It will also help to prevent healthy individuals from dropping coverage because of high costs, which ultimately raises costs for those still enrolled.
This is the time to act! We need Congress to vote to extend the enhanced premium tax credits – call your representative!
Call (202) 224-3121 and give the operator your zip code. They will connect you with your elected officials’ office. You can also use the link below to find out who your representatives are by entering your address.
Thank you for always supporting the needs of every Virginian.
Also, be on the lookout for calls to action from your local chapter organizers. Our VO chapters have been planning local actions and lobby days during the session. If you have questions, reach out to your local organizer!
