Although Americans are divided on many issues, nearly 8 in 10 support extending health care tax credits. These credits will expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress votes to extend them.
A new survey from the polling group Navigator, released on the April 15 deadline for filing income taxes, found that this support cuts across party and ideological lines.
“Not only is there a strong base of support for the existing tax credits but deep support for extending them as the deadline approaches for Congress to act,” the survey report said. “Three in four Americans support an extension, including 49% who say they `strongly support’ extending the credits.”
Eighty-eight percent of Democrats, 77% of independents and 63% of Republicans support the extension, including 61% of 2024 Donald Trump voters. It also appears to be a winning issue for legislators, with 55% of respondents viewing members of Congress who support extending the credits more favorably, while 54% view members who support letting credits expire less favorably.
The survey revealed the three greatest concerns about the credits expiring:
- Five million Americans will lose health care coverage, 49%;
- Americans with preexisting conditions such as cancer and heart disease will be unable to afford care, 45%; and
- Health care costs would increase by an average of $2,400 per year for millions of families, 37%.
More than 4 in 10 Americans said lowering the cost of health care should be a top priority for Congress, followed by 35% who said expanding access to health insurance is most important. Priorities differ along party lines, with Democrats placing more importance on expanding access, and independents and Republicans emphasizing lowering cost. Nonetheless, expanding access and lowering costs are priorities across party lines.
When asked what the president and Congress should be focused on, health care is the fourth-most selected priority, with one-third of naming it among their top five priorities However, when asked what they perceive that Trump and Republicans in Congress are most focused on, only 7% listed health care as being among their top five priorities.
Failing to expand the premium tax credit will inflate health insurance premium costs and cause the population of uninsured individuals to spike, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The agency expects that without an extension of the premium tax credit through 2026, the number of people without insurance will rise by 2.2 million next year. If Congress fails to permanently extend the credit, even more people will lose access to health insurance, Kiplinger reported.