From “shortsighted” to “borderline infuriating,” Western Slope Coloradans are blasting federal lawmakers’ failure to extend health care subsidies as many face a surge in their insurance costs next month.

After a bill brought by Democrats in the U.S. Senate to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies failed to overcome Republican opposition on Thursday, some Coloradans are now resigned to the reality that Congress won’t be coming to their aid.

Chaffee County resident John Zeising, who is facing a $1,000 monthly increase in his premium next year, said he had four words for the situation: “Depressing, but not surprising.”

Zeising, a retired firefighter for the Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District in Breckenridge, is among nearly 300,000 state residents who get their health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. Since enrolling in the marketplace earlier this year, Zeising has relied on the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit, which keeps his monthly premiums to about $240.

The enhanced tax credits were first passed by Congress in 2021 and renewed in 2022, but are now set to expire on Dec. 31, which will send insurance rates surging for many. At $1,000 more a month, Zeising is contending with a 400% increase in his premium without the tax credits.

Lawmakers in Congress have been scrambling for a solution, with Democrats pushing for an extension of the existing tax credits and Republicans looking to other ideas, such as subsidies for health savings accounts.

The issue came to a head on Thursday, when the Senate held a highly anticipated vote to extend the tax credits that a key block of Democrats had demanded as part of their agreement to reopen the government last month.

Democrats proposed a “clean,” three-year extension of the enhanced tax credits with no income caps or other caveats, like fraud-reduction measures, that have been sought by some Republicans. While the tax credits have no household income limit, the benefits are based on how much a household spends on premiums.

GOP lawmakers offered their own bill, which would have allowed the tax credits to expire and instead directed up to $1,500 per year to income-qualified Americans for their health savings accounts.

Neither proposal reached the 60-vote threshold that is needed to pass most legislation in the Senate, with each side largely voting down the other’s plan.

Zeising criticized the Republican proposal, saying it would have provided a “measly amount” in subsidies compared to what the tax credits offered, and that health savings accounts can’t be used to cover premiums.

But he said he was also frustrated with Democrats for proposing a bill, the three-year “clean” extension, that they knew wouldn’t pass.

“To me, it’s very shortsighted that the Democrats did not work in a bipartisan way to say, ‘OK, what alternative could be put to a vote on the Senate floor that actually might have a chance of passing?'”

Four Senate Republicans crossed party lines and voted for the Democrats’ plan, which Zeising said shows that had there been more compromise, a solution might have been reached.

Snowmass Village resident Matt Dubé felt similarly.

“Generally, you want to come out asking for more than what you want,” Dubé said. “No one gets everything they want, but you get the job done.”

Dubé is self-employed, and his health insurance for a family of three on Connect for Health Colorado costs about $41,000 a year in premiums. He does not receive the enhanced tax credits, but said his monthly premium will still increase by 37% next year, which he largely blames on the expiration of the subsidies.

That’s because, as the benefits expire, insurers expect more people, notably healthier households, to drop their plans. That in turn shrinks the insurance pool, which becomes less healthy and more expensive to cover, and ultimately drives up costs for other enrollees.

With a 37% increase, Dubé’s monthly premium for a family of three will jump over $1,200, from $3,416 to $4,679, next year.

“It was really critical that this vote pass to extend (the enhanced tax credits), so that this large increase that I’m seeing can be somewhat mitigated,” he said. “We’re going to have to now make some decisions about our family budget, based on this new reality.”

Dubé said it’s frustrating that lawmakers will soon head home for a recess over the Christmas holiday period, making it all but inevitable that a solution won’t be found before Jan. 1, when most insurance plans kick in.

“It’s really borderline infuriating,” Dubé said, adding that both parties should “stay and get the job done.”

Asked if this is an issue that will spill into January, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, during a press call with reporters on Thursday, said, “Anything that we do now is going to be much later than it should have been.”

He added, “I’m not going to say it’s never going to happen, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

Bennet said Republicans have had ample time to negotiate a plan with Democrats. He chastised Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson for keeping the House out on a seven-week hiatus just before and during the government shutdown, and blamed Senate Republicans for proposing a bill that wouldn’t pass.

The Colorado senator stood by Democrats’ decision to put a three-year extension to a vote, rather than propose other measures Republicans desired, such as income caps.

“I think it was the clearest expression we could have made about what the American people want,” Bennet said. “The best relief they could have gotten would’ve been a three-year extension.”

House Republicans have signaled they may still bring their own health care ideas to a vote before the end of the year.

Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican representing much of western and southern Colorado, is part of a bipartisan group of House lawmakers pushing for an extension of the tax credits, with income caps and an eventual phase-out.

But with just days left on the legislative calendar, and a lack of consensus among lawmakers and House leadership, an extension of the tax credits seems further out of reach.

For some Coloradans who were waiting to see what Congress would do before deciding on their health care plans, the failed Senate vote is their sign to move on.

Open enrollment for next year’s plans began on Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15. For Coloradans who want insurance to start on Jan. 1, however, they will need to enroll by Dec. 15.

Breckenridge resident Joanne Salazar said she and her husband, both retired, are seriously considering dropping insurance in 2026 to avoid paying nearly $2,000 more in monthly premiums, an increase of close to 300%, once their tax credits expire.

The couple may instead sign up for a “health sharing” program offered through a community-based nonprofit, which serves as an alternative to insurance. The system allows members to pool money and cost-share medical needs.

It means that Salazar and her husband would have to pay out of pocket for any medical expenses, including doctor’s visits. Both are healthy and are hoping the option will be temporary until they qualify for Medicare.

It’s a risk they feel they have to take in the face of insurance prices “that have gotten just so unaffordable,” Salazar said

“Our entire life, we’ve had health insurance, so it makes us super uncomfortable,” she said. “People are going to come off of health insurance (once the tax credits expire). It just seems like we’re in this cycle of not understanding that health care is something everybody needs.”

Coloradans said the fight over the enhanced tax credits highlights the broader discussion that needs to happen over the future of U.S. health care, with many seeing the subsidies as a band-aid fix to a systemic problem.

Health care is “not something we should be making a profit on,” Salazar said. “It should be nonprofit, I firmly believe that.”

They also want lawmakers to focus on tangible results rather than political messaging.

“There’s politics, all sides, everywhere, you can’t escape it,” Zeising said, “and then the losers are the American people.”

Published on SummitDaily.com.