If federal subsidies for marketplace health insurance plans expire at the end of the year, Idaho’s most “marginally vulnerable” people will feel the impact first, Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said Tuesday.
But it won’t be long before the disappearance of those subsidies that keep premiums low for people enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans will “affect everyone in the state,” she said at a protest organized by the Ada County Democratic Party.
Ada County Democrats organized a protest outside U.S. Sen. Jim Risch’s office in Boise on Tuesday. Protesters warn that Idaho will become “ground zero” of the health care crisis if federal lawmakers don’t extend Affordable Care Act subsidies before the end of the year.
The Kaiser Family Foundation found that without subsidies, monthly premiums for many plans are expected to more than double. If marketplace premiums rise significantly without federal subsidies, more people may choose to go uninsured — a serious problem for hospitals, which rely on people with private insurance plans to pay their bills, Rubel said.
“When you take away people’s private insurance, hospitals and health care providers can’t make a profit,” Rubell said. “You can be the richest man in the state and have excellent insurance, but if a hospital in your area goes out of business and you have a heart attack, you’re out of luck.”
Idaho’s open enrollment period ends Monday, the first market in the country to do so. A protest on Tuesday outside U.S. Sen. Jim Risch’s office in Boise over congressional Republicans’ “inaction” to restore subsidies. Jared DeLoof, chairman of the Ada County Democratic Party, said Idaho will be “ground zero of the national health care affordability crisis.”
Madison Hardy, a spokesperson for Risch, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“People do die from a lack of health care. People do die from a lack of health insurance,” Rubel said. “Unfortunately, we will soon have evidence of this.”
Her prediction was echoed by leaders at Your Health Idaho, Idaho’s official health insurance marketplace. Of the 115,000 Idaho residents who rely on Marketplace plans, the Marketplace expects 25,000 to cancel coverage as plans become more expensive, said Nichol Lapierre, the Marketplace’s chief marketing officer.
But preliminary data from Idaho Health paints a murkier picture of residents’ decisions. Lapierre said twice as many Idaho residents canceled existing Marketplace coverage as during last year’s open enrollment period, but more people also signed up for new plans, leading to a 4% increase in overall enrollment.
Boise resident Chris Hook participated in a protest outside U.S. Sen. Jim Risch’s office in Boise on Tuesday. Ada County Democrats who organized the protest warned that Idaho will become “ground zero” of the health care crisis if federal lawmakers don’t extend Affordable Care Act subsidies before the end of the year.
Executive Director Pat Kelly said that while Idaho Health plans are “encouraged” by the overall increase in enrollment, he highlighted the nearly 10% shift from “gold” and “silver” plans, which cover nearly all health care costs, to “bronze” plans with lower premiums but much higher deductibles and other costs.
About 5,000 customers have canceled plans for the coming year due to affordability concerns, and more cancellations are expected in the coming months, according to Your Health Idaho. If premiums spike in early 2026, Your Health Idaho projects that another 20,000 Idaho residents will have their coverage canceled or terminated by their insurance companies for nonpayment.
“Final enrollment numbers won’t be determined until April,” LaPierre said.
Delove stressed that these market programs are not a “handout” but are programs used by small business owners, self-employed people and farmers.
He said Tuesday that even though these people make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, they “cannot afford the huge premium increases that are coming.” “Working families are being squeezed from all sides.”
Becca Savransky contributed reporting.
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