Subsidies that helped hundreds of thousands of Arizonans afford health insurance expired on Jan. 1. When Congress reconvenes next week, lawmakers will be under pressure to address soaring costs.
Just before Congress’s holiday recess, Democrats in Congress, including Arizona Reps. Yassamin Ansari, Adelita Grijalva and Greg Stanton, voted for a three-year extension of the tax credits.
“Extending these tax credits is the only realistic way to lower premiums and protect health coverage for working families,” Ansari, Grijalva and Stanton said in a joint statement.
They noted that four House Republicans had voted for the extension alongside Democrats.
“Unfortunately, that did not include any of our Republican colleagues from Arizona,” Ansari, Grijalva and Stanton wrote.
Republicans from Arizona opposed the plan. Rep. David Schweikert argues the subsidies don’t address other reasons health care costs have risen.
“We need to stop dithering and actually start attacking the cost – not the financing – the cost,” Schweikert said. “Getting rid of duplications, getting rid of the fraud, automating the billing, these sorts of things. Because so many organizations have built their business models around those inefficiencies.”
More than 400,000 Arizonans got health care through the ACA marketplace in 2025. About 90% of Arizona enrollees last year benefitted from the now-expired enhanced premium tax credits that kept out-of-pocket costs lower. Without enhanced premium tax credits, enrollees will pay about 114% more for coverage on average this year, according to the health policy research organization KFF.
The tax credits were introduced in 2021 as part of the pandemic relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act. And the cost savings created by the credits contributed to record enrollment in ACA marketplace plans in the years since. Arizona's ACA marketplace enrollment increased 177% from 2020 to 2025, according to KFF.
A KFF poll in October found 78% of Americans support extending the tax credits, including nearly 60% of Republicans and more than 90% of Democrats.
-
Find everything you need to know about elections in Arizona and Maricopa County from KJZZ's Politics Desk. -
Florence leaders are aware residents are concerned about the prospect of a data center. An ad hoc committee could help the town council prepare for a request to build. -
Republicans running for governor have a delicate balance to strike: they want to convince voters they’re not too extreme. But as they battle in the GOP primary, they want to assure conservatives that they’re aligned with President Donald Trump. -
The state passed a law earlier this year that expands restrictions on using firefighting foams that contain PFAS. -
A proposal sent to the November ballot by Republican lawmakers to undercut Arizona’s teachers unions has drawn the ire of police and firefighters across the state, who believe the measure would also harm their labor organizations.
