BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey is demanding congressional Republicans vote to extend a set of tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to prevent what she calls skyrocketing health care costs across the country, as well as here in Massachusetts.

Healey held a press conference Tuesday at the State House demanding the extension and slamming President Donald Trump for potentially letting the Obamacare credits expire. Over 328,000 Massachusetts residents and households use the state Health Connector and will see up to $25,000 increases in their insurance premiums next year if they are not extended.

She also hit on previous criticisms she’s recently made of the Trump Administration, including tariffs on Canadian products, the delay in distributing Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds following the government shutdown and for withholding of SNAP benefits to 21 Democrat-ran states, including Massachusetts, beginning this week for refusing to provide USDA-required data on recipients.

“From the moment he took office, President Trump has been making costs go up for the American people – from his tariffs to cutting SNAP to taking away heating assistance. Now, millions of Americans will see their health care costs skyrocket because he let the tax credits that people rely on to afford their insurance expire,” Healey said.

“These are our small business owners, self-employed people, middle-class families and single parents. Women with breast cancer will lose access to treatment. People with heart disease won’t get the care they desperately need. Children won’t get the medicine they need for asthma. No one can afford this. We need President Trump and Congressional Republicans to do their jobs and vote to lower people’s health costs on Thursday,” she said.

Healey’s office says the average premium will jump by $1,300 per year, with some jumping as high as $10,000 or $25,000 without the extension. Her office says that tens of thousands of enrollees will also lose subsidies, totaling about $425 million in lost tax credits in the Bay State.

Congresswoman and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark is also calling on Republicans to extend the tax credits, adding that House Democrats are close to filing a discharge petition – a rare Congressional maneuver to vote a bill out of committee. Clark posted on X Monday “ACA tax credits expire in 23 days. All House Democrats have signed our discharge petition to protect health care and lower costs. We just need 4 Republicans to join us.”

But, Senate Republicans argue the Covid-era subsidies were meant to be temporary and are no longer needed and have yet to come together around an alternative plan.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, has not indicated any interest in bringing the ACA tax credit extension issue to the floor for a vote. Instead, House Republicans have presented several other proposals on ways to redirect, end and extend ACA funds, but have not garnered enough support around a single plan.

Congressman Mike Lawler, R-NY, has expressed his support for a two-year extension of ACA subsidies, while also blaming Obamacare itself for skyrocketing health care premiums ever since it was enacted.

“I and many of my colleagues have been working for weeks on a bipartisan solution, which would be a two-year extension of the subsidies with income limits,” Lawler posted Monday on X. “As I have said repeatedly, we must deal with the short-term issue of the expiration of the enhanced subsidies as well as the longer term issue which is the fact that since Obamacare took effect health care premiums have risen over 96% nationwide.”

A Thursday vote being forced by Senate Democrats is the result of negotiations to end the recent government shutdown, with Senate Majority Leader Joe Thune, R-SD, agreeing to hold a Senate vote on any bill Democrats propose.

Democrats will need 60 votes to pass the extension, meaning at least 13 Republicans will have to come across the aisle and vote in favor of it.

Healey and the Massachusetts Health Connector also announced a new online portal, the “Get an Estimate” tool, for state residents to navigate the potential federal changes to their health insurance.

“Our enrollees and new applicants need information and a clear picture of what they are facing next year. The Get an Estimate tool is easy to use and provides details on available plans and premium prices that people need now,” said Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Connector Audrey Morse Gasteier. “Taking a few minutes to use the tool is worth it for enrollees and new applicants to make sure they understand their options for next year.”

The Health Connector’s Open Enrollment period started on November 1 and runs through January 23. The deadline for coverage to start the New Year is December 23.

There are more than 376,000 people in Health Connector coverage, of which over 328,000 use the so-called Enhanced Premium Tax Credits to pay for health insurance, according to the state.

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