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Congress is running out of time to renew Affordable Care Act subsidies known as enhanced advance premium tax credits, which help 24 million Americans, including more than 100,000 in Colorado, afford health insurance.

Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, and if the tax credits are allowed to expire, Coloradans who do not get coverage through their jobs would see health insurance costs increase by 170 percent on average.

Priya Telang, communications manager for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, said the loss of tax credits would affect everyone who pays for health insurance.

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"This is not just going to affect people who buy insurance on the individual or small group marketplace," Telang cautioned. "It’s going to ripple through commercial insurance. Everyone is going to see their premiums rise as a result of this."

The government shutdown is now in its third week and Democrats have made the expiring tax credits their main demand in the standoff. Republicans said they were only necessary during COVID and are too expensive. Since 2021, the tax credits have helped double the number of people covered under the Affordable Care Act, according to the health policy research organization KFF. More than three in four Americans with Affordable Care Act coverage live in states that voted for President Donald Trump.

Last year 92 percent of Coloradans in the individual marketplace qualified for the tax credits. If people cannot afford health insurance, Telang noted many may stop filling prescriptions to manage chronic conditions, delay treatment and ultimately end up on the hook for much more expensive emergency care.

"Investing in consumer affordability measures is critical for access," Telang asserted. "We can’t play political games when it comes to people’s health. We can’t allow 80,000 Coloradans to lose coverage."

Nearly eight in 10 U.S. adults, including a majority of Republicans, said Congress should extend the tax credits for people who buy insurance through state marketplaces such as Connect for Health Colorado, according to a recent KFF poll. Just two in 10 said Congress should let the credits expire.