WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) joined a group of Senate colleagues to introduce the Health Care Affordability Act, legislation to lower health care costs for millions of Americans and make the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) for Health Insurance Marketplace coverage permanent. PTCs were previously enhanced under the Inflation Reduction Act but are set to expire at the end of 2025, increasing health insurance costs for over 20 million Americans. The Health Care Affordability Act would make the enhanced PTCs permanent, ensuring that these Americans don’t face sudden increases and also protecting another 3 million Americans' access to care.

“All Virginians should have access to affordable health care, no matter their financial situation, and the ACA premium tax credits play a key role in this,” said the Senators. “The Health Care Affordability Act will ensure over 20 million Americans don’t face unfair cost increases and help more Virginians access care they can afford—it’s a win-win.”

Warner and Kaine have long fought to lower health care costs and increase accessibility for all Americans, and earlier this month, the senators wrote to leadership stressing the importance of passing legislation to address this issue. Kaine’s Medicare-X Choice Act includes a provision to make the enhanced premium tax credits permanent. The senators voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, groundbreaking legislation that passed in the Senate by one vote and instituted a cap on prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare, lowered premiums for more than 500,000 Virginians, and capped insulin costs at $35 a month. Kaine also introduced the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act last year, which would lower health care costs and expand access to insurance for millions of Americans.

In addition to Warner and Kaine, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), John Tester (D-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Gary Peters (D-MI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), George Helmy (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM). 

Full text of the bill is available here.

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