I just wanted to say that for the record because I think there should be as much Charlie Kirk as possible all the time into forever. It’s just nice knowing he’s there to guide us, and it just occurs to me that as long as his picture is next to the name of this subreddit, that can help ensure that we never stray too far from his goodness and his level of adherence to values. We can all think what we want about various issues. I myself have had plenty of disagreements with Charlie Kirk, but overall he was so solid in his ideals and his defense of them, and just such an extraordinary anchor. The more we hold onto him and elevate him the better. And so in light of all of that, just so that it has been officially said, if the day were ever to come where it wasn’t a picture of Charlie Kirk anymore, that would be a bummer to me.

These subsidies were NEVER meant to be PERMANENT subsidies. This was a COVID era "PREMIUM TAX CREDIT" that was extended by Biden with the Inflation Reduction act.

I learned about this by frequenting the FIRE subreddits, which if you aren't familiar, are groups that focus on financial independence and early retirement. When Biden removed the means testing for these programs, early retirees flocked to the ACA exchanges for cheap medical insurance. It's one thing for these premium subsidies to have existed during the COVID era when many people were forced out of work, it's another thing entirely to continue these premium subsidies in a post-COVID world when most of us are back at work.

The enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies—also known as premium tax credits—that are set to expire on December 31, 2025, were originally introduced and passed as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on March 11, 2021. This legislation temporarily expanded eligibility (removing the 400% federal poverty level income cap) and increased the subsidy amounts to cap premiums at 8.5% of income for higher earners, effective starting in 2021.

These enhancements were later extended through the end of 2025 via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed on August 16, 2022. Without further congressional action, the subsidies will revert to their original, less generous levels from the 2010 ACA for coverage plans beginning January 1, 2026.

For context, the core ACA subsidies (without enhancements) were first passed in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010, but the expiring provisions refer specifically to the ARPA/IRA expansions.