As enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits expire, James Davitt and millions across the U.S. face soaring health care costs, forcing many to make tough decisions.<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 James Davitt joins the millions of Americans forced to make difficult choices as their health care costs skyrocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re all having to make hard, if not impossible choices about how to care for our families,\u201d said Davitt.<\/p>\n
Enhanced tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, expired at the end of 2025 after Congress failed to extend them.<\/p>\n
Those tax credits lowered monthly premiums by thousands of dollars. Across the U.S., more than 20 million Americans relied on them.<\/p>\n
Florida leads the nation in ACA enrollment, with more than 20% of Floridians (over 4.7 million people) enrolled.<\/p>\n
Without the credits, families like the Davitt’s are seeing costs more than double.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe paid roughly $1300 and some change in 2025 for healthcare for a family of four, with the ACA. Without those subsidies, this year our insurance costs were gonna be $4000 a month. I don’t know who can afford that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Davitt says seeing those numbers was overwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cStunned at first, I think the next follow-up reaction is automatically fear, because what are we gonna do to take care of our family?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, his family had to make a hard choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only answer for us was to literally not be insured. So, as of January 1st of this year, my family of four is not insured,\u201d Davitt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a middle-income family, we’re certainly not poor, but you make $100,000 a year or $120,000 a year as husband and wife. You know, after taxes, what do you take home? 80? OK, so now we’re gonna spend $36,000 on health insurance. We couldn’t afford the mortgage or the car payments or anything else if we did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davitt also said his teen daughter has health issues. They\u2019re now forced to pay out of pocket for care, therapy and medication.
\u201cPeople simply can\u2019t afford some of the premiums that have been happening in this coming year,” said Jacobs.<\/p>\n
Xonjenese Jacobs with the Covering Florida program said insurance navigators are available for free to help families compare plans based on their medical needs and budget.<\/p>\n
This week, the House is scheduled to vote on a three-year extension of those ACA subsidies, but even if that passes, it likely won’t pass the Senate, meaning higher healthcare costs could be the reality for millions of Americans for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
Davitt has a message for lawmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018We\u2019re your constituents, we’re the people you’re supposed to be fighting for,\u201d said Davitt, \u201cYou can’t allow this to pass and not have some option for us. What are we going to do? I expect more from our government.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to add that not all Affordable Care Act subsidies are ending \u2014 only the enhanced subsidies created during the COVID-19 relief effort in 2021. The original subsidies from the 2010 Affordable Care Act are still in place, but far less generous.<\/p>\n