WEEKLY UPDATE: 12/11/25
The United States Senate has rejected two dueling proposals that aimed to address the looming expiration of COVID-era enhanced premium tax credits for health insurance exchange plans. On Thursday, December 11, the Senate voted down both the Republican legislation, which proposed replacing the subsidies with new health savings accounts (HSA), and the Democratic bill that would have extended the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits for three years. Alternative proposals that have been floated in recent days also lack the bipartisan support needed for passage ahead of the end-of-year deadline, likely guaranteeing the enhanced subsidies will expire on January 1, 2026.
Debate over the expiring enhanced ACA subsidies, which were introduced in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan and later extended through the end of 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act, fueled the 43-day federal government shutdown that ended last month. Senate Republicans garnered enough Democratic support to advance a stopgap funding bill on November 10, driven by a promised mid-December vote on legislation to renew the subsidies.
Connecticut Health Exchange: Governor Announces Plan To Preserve Subsidies for Enrollees
Shortly after the Senate voted on Thursday, Governor Ned Lamont held a Capitol press conference declaring his authorization to use $70 million from the recently created $500 million federal backstop fund to subsidize on-exchange health insurance costs, depending on income, for one year.
The temporary fix will offset the anticipated premium spikes triggered by the expected subsidy lapse, effectively preserving financial support for exchange customers. Lamont said families of four earning up to $56,000 will see no change in healthcare costs, and families of four earning up to $128,000 will see very little change in out-of-pocket costs. State officials, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), and Access Health CT are working on establishing a partial subsidy for individuals earning up to $75,000 or households earning up to $160,000.
Open enrollment for health plans on Access Health CT (AHCT), Connecticut’s official health insurance marketplace, began November 1, 2025, and ends January 15, 2026. For coverage starting January 1, customers must enroll by December 15. As of December 11 — after the governor announced the mitigation plan — the AHCT enrollment dashboard showed nearly 130,000 customers were enrolled in qualified health plans (QHP) for 2026, which is on track with last year’s data. With these new state subsidies, Lamont encouraged customers to re-shop plans on the Access Health CT website for cheaper options, specifically suggesting Anthem plans would provide the most savings.
According to a mid-October consumer impact analysis, if the subsidies lapse at the end of the month, 90% of the approximately 157,000 customers enrolled in exchange plans will lose at least some federal financial assistance, and the nearly 28,000 enrollees who earn above 400% of the federal poverty level will no longer qualify for the enhanced premium tax credits.
During November’s special session of the Connecticut General Assembly, state lawmakers approved legislation to establish a $500 million contingency account to safeguard essential social services endangered by federal cuts. The law grants the governor broad authority to earmark the emergency funds. Any dollars that aren’t allocated by the start of the 2026 Legislative Session, which begins February 4, will return to the Budget Reserve Fund.
