Reps. Mackenzie, Bresnahan, and Perry Allowed Critical Health Care Tax Credits To Expire Last Year, Skyrocketing Premiums

January 15, 2026

PENNSYLVANIA - Today marks the original deadline for open enrollment in Pennsylvania’s health insurance marketplace. As we approach the extended deadline at the end of the month,  Pennsylvanians who rely on the marketplace for health care are still facing impossibly high costs.

"Congressman Rob Bresnahan's irresponsible decision to drag his feet and allow enhanced ACA subsidies to expire last year has made health care coverage completely out of reach for my family. Not only have I lost access to affordable marketplace coverage, but relatively young and healthy people like me opting out of the insurance pool will raise premiums for everyone else," said Charles Keppler of Pocono Township. “Congressman Bresnahan and his colleagues have created a situation where we have to choose between poverty and sickness. Even without health care, I know I could never be as sick as Rob Bresnahan for doing that to his constituents."

Reps. Rob Mackenzie, Ryan Bresnahan, and Scott Perry voted twice last year for funding packages that did not include an extension of these expiring health care tax credits, despite each congressman representing over 20,000 constituents who benefit from them. Without action from the congressmen, the tax credits expired at the end of 2025, skyrocketing health care costs for hundreds of thousands Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth.

Following months of action from their constituents, Congressmen Mackenzie and Bresnahan last week voted to restore critical health care tax credits for three years. Congressman Perry voted against restoring the tax credits for 25,000 of his own constituents.

ICYMI: Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa. Pennie Enrollment Drops As Congress Wrestles With Health Insurance Subsidy Vote

• Thousands of Pennsylvanians have left the state’s only Affordable Care Act marketplace, Pennie, following sharp increases in monthly premiums due to expiring enhanced federal subsidies.

• For those still enrolled, rising costs means cutting expenses elsewhere.

• “You should be able to work full time and afford health insurance,” Gehman said. “… It’s so high now for a lot of people and they have to choose between, ‘Well, do I want to make my mortgage payment or my health insurance?’ Obviously, they’re going to get rid of health insurance.”

• In 2025, 497,000 Pennsylvanians were enrolled in Pennie — a record-breaking amount. During the enrollment period from Nov. 1, 2024 and Jan. 15, 2025, 90,000 people signed up.

• But, more than halfway through this cycle’s enrollment period, overall enrollment numbers are down by 20,000 people and nearly 1,000 terminate their coverage each day, according to Pennie Director Devon Trolley. As of this week, between 465,000 and 472,000 Pennsylvanians are enrolled in Pennie.  The open enrollment period for this year was extended to Feb. 1.

• “We don’t have a lot of insight into where people ended up,” Trolley said. “Anecdotally, from our call center … we’ve been hearing pretty consistently that cost has been a major factor this year.”