"She had just about decided that she and her husband would drop coverage, and only insure the kids. But it would be risky. "My husband works with major tools all day,'' she said, ''so it feels like rolling the dice.'' (B. asked to be identified by her middle initial because she's worried her insurance needs might affect her ongoing job search.) The family lives in Providence, R.I. Her husband is a self-employed woodworker, and she worked full-time as a nonprofit manager."
"The family's "gold" plan cost them nearly $2,000 a month in premiums. It was a lot, and they dug into retirement savings to pay for it, while B. kept looking for a new position. But then Congress failed to extend the enhanced subsidies for those plans, despite ongoing political battles over the issue and a lengthy government shutdown. With subsidies expiring, B.'s family plan will cost even more almost $3,000 a month in the new year."
A Rhode Island family faces dramatic premium increases for their Affordable Care Act plan after enhanced subsidies expired, pushing their monthly cost from nearly $2,000 to almost $3,000. The wife lost her job and searched for new employment with benefits while the husband works as a self-employed woodworker in a hazardous trade, making adult coverage particularly important. Many middle-class households with ACA coverage confront similar steep increases when new rates take effect Jan. 1, 2026. Women often shoulder family insurance decisions and use more health care, in part because of reproductive services and caregiving roles.
Read at www.npr.org
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