Rep. Kathy Castor (D) believes Americans should have safety nets to secure their homes and health, and she's calling out the Trump administration for its cuts to rental assistance programs and housing programs. Rep. Castor voted against policies that increased health care premiums for Floridians and eliminated the ACA tax credit program.
"Understand how important it is that people have affordable housing, health care that's affordable, food assistance if they need it, rather than rip those safety net initiatives away to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy across the country," she shared on social media. She went on to argue that savings in these areas help hedge costs against unexpected home repairs, such as air conditioning.
Castor opposes the Trump administration's refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (ePTCs).
About 4.7 million Floridians, or a fifth of all national participants, are enrolled in the affordable health care marketplace. These tax credits were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some experts estimate this to increase the cost of health insurance by about 75% for most people. Alternative health care plans that those currently using the ACA tax credit programs have deductibles of $10,000, which is much higher than current options.
Castor Presents ACA Tax Credit Amendment
She introduced two new amendments to help mitigate the higher health care costs during a markup session of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. One amendment was to permanently extend the tax credits granted in the ACA tax credit program. The other amendment was to protect current no-cost vaccine programs.
“If the tax credit expires, millions of people with chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes will struggle to afford health care or lose coverage altogether," Castor said in a statement. "All Floridians will be saddled with higher costs due to uncompensated care at hospitals and crowded emergency rooms. Florida hospitals strongly support extension of the health care tax credits."
