Radiology groups urge Congress to extend premium tax credits, protect physician practices
Radiology societies are urging Congress to extend enhanced premium tax credits, a topic that’s reportedly become a key sticking point in negotiations to avoid a government shutdown.
Numerous medical trade groups including the American College of Radiology and American Society of Neuroradiology recently wrote to Senate and House leaders on this issue. They note that such credits are slated to expire in 2026 absent congressional action, with millions of Americans facing steep premium increases, or the potential to lose coverage entirely.
“These enhanced credits have made health coverage more affordable for the more than 24 million Americans who purchased coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2025, including many who are older, live in rural areas, or operate small businesses,” ACR, ASNR, the American Medical Association (which spearheaded the message) and others wrote on Sept. 15. “For these individuals, the credits are a key means of securing comprehensive coverage, as the credits are only available to individuals who do not have access to such coverage outside of the Health Insurance Marketplaces.”
The Congressional Budget Office reportedly is projecting that 4.2 million people will lose coverage entirely, if lawmakers fail to act, the societies noted. This could result in a family of four earning $64,000 annually seeing the amount they pay for insurance climb by $2,600 in 2026. Meanwhile, a 60-year-old couple with an income of $80,000 would see a jump of about $17,500 annually.
Even individuals who aren’t eligible will be impacted, they added. That’s because advanced premium tax credits helped draw healthier people into insurance marketplaces, “improving the risk pool and lowering premiums overall.”
“These increases will be evident to consumers as soon as marketplace ‘window shopping’ begins in the fall of 2025, well ahead of the 2026 open enrollment period,” ACR et al. wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., along with their minority leader counterparts Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Many current enrollees are already receiving insurer notices that project steep premium increases if the credits are not extended. Extending the enhanced APTCs will continue to lower premiums across income levels, mitigate financial barriers to care, and sustain enrollment in the marketplaces. Allowing them to expire would reverse these gains, increase the uninsured rate, and raise uncompensated care costs for hospitals and physician practices nationwide.”
Others signing the message included nearly every state medical society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, the Medical Group Management Association and the American College of Surgeons. A coalition of 18 governors also wrote to Congress earlier this month pushing for extension of such premium tax credits provided by the Affordable Care Act.
The tax credits have become a key sticking issue in negotiations to avoid a government shutdown, with a looming deadline on Tuesday, Sept. 30. Sen. Majority Leader Thune said Monday on Fox News that Republicans are willing to discuss the issue, but not in the context of a shutdown. He also expressed concern that the program lacks an income cap and is “rife with waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.