10 reasons to let Biden’s Covid credits expire

Sep 3, 2025 by AFP

Beginning in 2021, Congress substantially increased Affordable Care Act premium tax credit subsidies and eliminated the income cap on eligibility. These changes were sold as temporary and are set to expire at the end of the year. Now, some in Washington want them to continue.

Here are 10 reasons that’s a bad idea.

The pandemic is over, and nearly every other pandemic measure has already expired.From mask mandates to enhanced unemployment benefits, the pandemic-era scars are fading.If politicians can’t end a “temporary” program once the crisis ends, what can they ever roll back?
The system funds insurers. It doesn’t provide value to patients. As the Affordable Care Act provider network shrinks, patient access declines. Even before the expansions, many people making less than 150% of the poverty level were unwilling to pay even $25 per month for an ACA insurance plan.This shows that the system doesn’t provide enough value to consumers, while insurance agencies rake in record profits.
The system, especially under the Covid expansions, is unfair. The subsidy expansion eliminated the eligibility income cap. Now, a family of four making almost $130,000 a year could qualify for subsidies at taxpayer expense.Every dollar that goes to a household that doesn’t need it is a dollar unavailable to the most vulnerable.
The expansions are fueling $27 billion in enrollment fraud. Why? Because the expansions make coverage “free” to everyone under 150% of the federal poverty line, creating an incentive to underreport income.Data suggests that 62% of the 6.4 million people receiving free coverage are underreporting. In fact, in 29 states, more people are claiming to be below 150% of the poverty line than actually live in the state.
The expansions are unsustainable. The cost of the ACA’s premium tax credit program has doubled under recent expansions and now tops $125 billion a year — and most of that goes straight to insurance companies rather than patients. With a national debt of over $37 trillion, America simply doesn’t have the money for a ballooning program that doesn’t even accomplish its goals.
The expansions are overly liberal in what they award. As originally designed, Obamacare required recipients to contribute at least 2% of their annual income toward their health insurance premiums.But 47% of all ACA tax credit recipients, or 11.4 million people, pay nothing for their health insurance.When people pay nothing, they have no “skin in the game,” which makes the program less about insurance and more of a handout.
The Biden administration irresponsibly used these subsidies to enroll more people in Obamacare health insurance programs, regardless of eligibility or cost. And many enrollees are auto-renewed without lifting a finger and without meaningful income verification.The One Big Beautiful Bill Act improved integrity by ending automatic reenrollment and requiring verification. Still, these reforms can only do so much to fix the problem as long as the expansions are in effect.
Millions abandoned their existing coverage to opt for the “free” option. Instead of independence, the expansions encourage dependency on the government.Enrollment in the Obamacare premium tax credit program was flat before the expansions began in 2021. Since then, enrollment has doubled.People didn’t suddenly leave their private insurance companies for no reason, and most new enrollees didn’t appear out of nowhere.
Free health care coverage discourages value shopping, leading to inflationary and skyrocketing premiums.Since 2020, ACA premiums have risen by 75%, contributing to Americans’ concerns about the rising cost of health car

The misguided expansion makes health care less accessible. Obamacare costs have skyrocketed, leaving low-income families to face shrinking access and worse outcomes. Biden’s extra subsidies double down on the problem.What good is insurance if you can’t afford the deductible or if no providers in your area accept your ACA plan?

The bottom line

Biden’s “Covid credits” were supposed to be temporary. Keeping them means yet another bloated entitlement that is costly, unfair, and unsustainable.

These subsidies reward insurance companies, encourage fraud, and waste billions of taxpayer dollars, all while failing to improve care or lower costs for families.

The responsible choice is simple: Let them expire as promised.

What you can do

President Biden’s credits are one of many examples of how Washington has tried to control health care with one-size-fits-all mandates, higher costs, and fewer choices.

There’s a better way.

The Personal Option puts patients back in charge by lowering costs, expanding choices, and giving families — not insurance companies or government bureaucrats — real control over their health care decisions.

Congress needs to hear it loud and clear: Americans want health care freedom, not more government handouts.

👉 Add your name today. Sign the letter and tell Congress to support the Personal Option for health care.

This is a guest blog written by Lauren Stewart, senior legislative affairs liaison at Americans for Prosperity and Concerned Veterans for America.