As the federal shutdown enters its third week, CEOs of two Wichita, Kan.-based health systems are issuing a public warning about the looming expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits.
Kevin Strecker, CEO of Ascension Via Christi, and Bill Voloch, president and CEO of Wesley Healthcare, wrote an op-ed in The Wichita Eagle urging Congress to extend the tax credits, which remain a central sticking point in the shutdown negotiations.
The standoff has stretched more than three weeks. While Democrats are pressing to tie the subsidy extension to reopening the government, Republicans say they will entertain that discussion only after the shutdown ends.
In their piece, Mr. Strecker and Mr. Voloch wrote that the credits help more than 160,000 Kansans afford their health insurance — and if the subsidies expire, people who obtain health insurance through the individual marketplace will face an estimated 77% average rise in out-of-pocket costs.
The CEOs emphasized that the expiration of the subsidies would “ripple through families, hospitals and entire communities across Kansas,” straining facilities and negatively affecting access.
Read their full opinion piece here.
