With the clock ticking toward a health insurance application deadline, Minnesotans are dealing with a lot of unknowns.
They have until Dec. 15 to apply for health insurance for 2026 on the public market that would begin in January. However, they likely won’t know exactly how much it will cost until after Congress decides to vote to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies before the end of the year.
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“In 2026, if the federal government doesn’t extend these enhanced tax credits, the government will still provide some financial help, but it will be less than it has been for the last several years,” says Libby Caulum, CEO of MNsure, Minnesota’s public health insurance market.
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on two health insurance bills. A Democratic plan to extend the current “enhanced” health insurance subsidies and a Republican plan to create health savings accounts for Americans with qualifying incomes to pay for out-of-pocket expenses.
“Republicans can’t kick this problem down the road to January,” Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
Klobuchar says the Republican plan won’t help people seeing thousands of dollars of increases in their premiums.
“They’re seeing that their plans have doubled and tripled. They are weighing what this means for their families. Should they have no plan? Should they get a junk plan? Should they stay in a job when they actually want to go start a business?”
The Republican plan has the backing of President Donald Trump, who says all the subsidies do is enrich insurance companies.
“I want to give nothing to the insurance companies,” he said during a speech about the economy in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. “We want the money to go directly to the people. We want you to go out and buy your own health insurance. You’ll get much better health insurance at a much lower cost.”
If Congress doesn’t act to extend subsidies or do anything else, about 90,000 Minnesotans in the MNsure program will see higher premiums without the “enhanced” federal subsidies. Many of them will continue to receive smaller subsidies that were in place before additional “enhanced” subsidies were added during the COVID pandemic.
However, MNsure says about 19,000 people will lose all subsidies because income restrictions will snap back to pre-COVID amounts. Starting in 2026, single Minnesota taxpayers earning more than $62,600 or couples earning more than $84,600 won’t qualify for any tax credits.
But Caulum urges Minnesotans not to give up health insurance altogether, even with higher costs.
“Having health insurance can protect you from catastrophic health situations, and it helps make sure you can stay healthy through the year,” she told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
There is also political fallout to consider in the 2026 midterm elections.
“There’s a lot of public insecurity about health insurance because costs have been going up in recent years, so Democrats are politically smart to try and emphasize that issue and Republicans have to find a way around it,” says Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier.
Click here for more information on the enhanced premium tax credit and 2026 exchange premiums.