On Monday, Cincinnati leaders and statewide health advocates used the 16th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act to deliver a warning shot about the future of health coverage in Ohio. In a virtual press conference, they said recent federal policy changes have sharply driven up the cost of coverage and forced thousands of Ohioans off the insurance marketplace. Speakers pointed to the lapse of enhanced premium tax credits and proposed Medicaid cuts as immediate threats to families already stretching to cover housing, food and prescription costs, and organizers said they chose the anniversary to show how quickly hard-won coverage gains can unravel when federal policy shifts.
As reported by CityBeat, the virtual event, organized by Protect Our Care Ohio, began at 12:30 p.m. and featured Cincinnati City Council member Seth Walsh; Renee Mahaffey-Harris, CEO of the Center for Closing the Health Gap; and local residents Diahanna Kinsley and Andrea Oberschlake, who shared personal accounts of being priced out of care. Organizers told CityBeat they were pressing elected officials to restore pandemic-era financial assistance that had made marketplace coverage affordable for many families.
Enrollment Drop Hits Ohio Hard
New data show the damage is already showing up in the numbers. Health Policy Institute of Ohio reports that 469,616 Ohioans selected marketplace coverage during the open-enrollment period that ended Jan. 15, which is about 114,000 fewer people than the year before, a decline of roughly 20 percent. The institute notes that Ohio experienced one of the largest percentage enrollment drops among states that rely on the federal exchange.
Premiums Could More Than Double
Analysts say the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits is a central driver of the squeeze. KFF estimates that average out-of-pocket premium payments for subsidized enrollees could jump by about 114 percent in 2026 if the enhanced credits are not brought back. National coverage has also documented more than a million fewer Marketplace plan selections this season as those subsidies lapse, signaling that the loss of financial help is already shrinking enrollment, according to WESH/CNN.
Advocates Say Families Face Tough Choices
Organizers told CityBeat that these policy shifts are forcing families into painful tradeoffs between health care and basics like rent or groceries, and they urged lawmakers to reinstate the enhanced tax credits and reject cuts to Medicaid. National advocacy groups have characterized the looming premium spikes as catastrophic for working households, with the surge in costs described as “a life-or-death issue” for many families, according to Protect Our Care.
What To Watch Next
Advocates say they plan to keep pressing state and federal officials for relief as higher bills start landing in mailboxes this spring. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio warns that the enrollment decline could deepen if people who were automatically renewed decide not to pay their increased premiums, and analysts at KFF say nonpayment, often called “effectuation,” could trigger even steeper drops in coverage in the coming months.
