Nearly 80 percent of Americans and more than half of Republicans want Congress to extend tax credits for people with low and moderate incomes so they can keep affording coverage through the Affordable Care Act. That is the key finding of a new poll from KFF.
The tax credits, also called subsidies, lower the cost of health insurance premiums for individuals. In 2021, the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress expanded these subsidies, which made it easier for more Americans to buy coverage. The enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year. Their expansion helped ACA enrollment hit a record 24 million Americans and drove its popularity to the highest levels yet.
But Congress has not moved forward on a bill to extend the tax credits. The House and Senate have yet to act, and the future of the subsidies has become the sticking point in the political fight that shut down the federal government this week. That standoff came after President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress could not reach a deal with Democrats over the extension of the subsidies.
KFF’s analysis of its survey data, released Friday, put the public’s opinion into clear terms. “More than three-quarters (78%) of the public say they want Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits available to people with low and moderate incomes to make the health coverage purchased through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace more affordable,” the organization said. “That’s more than three times the share (22%) who say they want Congress to let the tax credits expire.”
The poll also highlighted that support for keeping the subsidies goes beyond traditional political divides. According to KFF, “most Republicans (59%) and ‘Make American Great Again’ supporters (57%) favor extending the enhanced tax credits, which otherwise would expire at the end of the year and require Marketplace customers to pay much more in premiums to retain coverage.”
The numbers show that a wide majority of Americans, regardless of party, view the subsidies as essential to keeping health care costs in reach. For many families, losing the enhanced tax credits would mean facing insurance premiums that climb hundreds of dollars a month. That financial hit could drive some to drop coverage altogether, undoing the record-setting enrollment gains the ACA has seen in the past few years.
The political battle in Washington stands in sharp contrast to the poll results. While ordinary Americans show strong support for continuing the subsidies, lawmakers remain locked in partisan gridlock. With the end of the year approaching, millions of people are watching closely to see whether Congress will act or leave them facing higher costs for coverage.
The KFF poll underscores that while health policy debates often split along party lines in Washington, the everyday concern of affordable coverage brings Americans much closer together. What happens next will determine whether the ACA’s record enrollment continues to grow or takes a sharp step backward.