A Western Slope Republican is among a handful of lawmakers in Congress racing to build enough support to pass legislation that will avoid a massive spike in people’s health insurance premiums next year. 

But despite the short window of time lawmakers have to act, he thinks they can get it done

“I do believe support will grow in the coming days and weeks,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, in an interview with the Summit Daily. “It’s a key priority. We’ve got a lot of things that we’re working on here in Congress, I believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Hurd recently returned to Washington following Congress’ August recess, during which he spent much of his time traveling the 3rd Congressional District he represents. The sprawling district encompasses much of western and southern Colorado, including rural resort areas such as Aspen and Glenwood Springs, as well as the cities of Pueblo and Grand Junction. 

One of the big issues on constituents’ minds was health care, and, specifically, whether they could afford to keep their insurance next year, Hurd said. 

The issue is being driven by the looming expiration of Biden-era subsidies for health plans purchased under the Affordable Care Act. Called the enhanced premium tax credit, the subsidies helped lower people’s insurance premiums and expanded benefits to people making over 400% of the federal poverty line. 

The enhanced tax credit was first approved as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, a COVID-relief package, and later extended under the 2023 Inflation Reduction Act. Both legislative packages were priorities for congressional Democrats and former President Joe Biden. 

The tax credits are now set to expire at the end of 2025, and insurers are planning to dramatically hike rates as a result. That will affect Coloradans who shop for their own insurance on the individual marketplace, known as Connect for Health Colorado, rather than receive it through an employer. 

On the Western Slope, average premium rates could jump 38% in 2026, though costs will be even higher for those earning above 400% of the federal poverty line. In Colorado, that equates to $62,600 a year for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four.

Hurd’s office projects that people in his district would see an average premium increase of 82%, which would be more than $11,000 per year for an individual. 

“I’ve met a number of hard-working, middle-class constituents who are seriously concerned about whether or not they could keep their health care,” Hurd said. “I don’t want to put hard-working Coloradans in the position where they have to choose between health care and food or utility bills or taking care of their kids.” 

It’s why Hurd joined roughly a dozen lawmakers, most of them Republican, to co-sponsor the  Bipartisan Premium Tax Credit Expansion Act, which would extend the subsidies for another year. 

Hurd also wants Congress to use that time to work on a longer-term solution that targets the underlying cost drivers of health care. That includes examining the cost of prescription drugs, administrative and regulatory burdens and mandates that Hurd says are “driving up costs.” 

“This is something that Republicans and Democrats are going to have to come together on and see what we can do to fix this,” Hurd said. “If we don’t do that, the system is not sustainable, and no one will have health care.” 

Impacts of the “big, beautiful bill” 

Hurd called a one-year extension a politically realistic timeline for Congress to work out a solution, adding, “I want to get things passed here.” 

Some Democrats have cast the extension as a political move to punt the issue past the November 2026 midterm elections in a bid by Republicans to avoid electoral blowback. 

Hurd said that critique “makes no sense to me,” noting that changes to people’s premium rates would be made public ahead of Election Day next year, which is on Nov. 3. 

Preliminary rate increases for 2026, for example, were unveiled in mid-July of this year, and final notices will be issued in a matter of weeks. Open enrollment begins on Nov. 1. 

Democrats, at both the state and federal levels, also criticized congressional Republicans for not including an extension of the subsidies when they had a chance to as part of their marquee domestic policy bill. 

The measure, dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill,” passed in July and made changes to both the individual marketplace and Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the changes could lead to around 10 million people losing health insurance by 2034. 

Most of that will come from restrictions on Medicaid eligibility and funding, though the bulk of those changes won’t begin to take effect until 2027. 

Hurd, who voted for the “big, beautiful bill,” said he believes changes like Medicaid work requirements are a “reform in the right direction, because I think we need to use our Medicaid dollars better.” 

He said Medicaid should be for vulnerable populations like children, seniors and people with disabilities, rather than able-bodied adults who can work. 

“Even that said, I think the work reform requirements that we implemented in (the big, beautiful bill) are quite modest and reasonable,” Hurd said. “You can satisfy the Medicaid work requirements by working for 20 hours a week, by going to school for 20 hours a week, or even volunteering for 20 hours a week.” 

Health care advocates, however, have warned that the administrative burdens and increased paperwork the bill poses could inevitably lead to some eligible Coloradans losing their Medicaid coverage. 

When it comes to individual marketplace insurance plans, around two million people could lose insurance as a result of several of the big, beautiful bill’s policy changes. The expiration of the enhanced tax credits next year would also lead to roughly four million more people losing coverage, bringing total potential insurance losses to 14 million through 2034, according to the budget office. 

Hurd said he thinks there’s a path to passing his bill that would extend the subsidies once the “reality of double-digit premium increases hits home.” 

“I think we can get it done,” Hurd said. “How this exactly will work remains to be seen, but I’m certainly committed to being someone that, on the Republican side, is committed to finding a solution.”

It’s unclear how much support there is from Republicans to pass an extension. Republicans control Congress, holding a 219-212 majority in the House and a 53-47 majority in the Senate. 

Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, said during a recent interview that he’s had conversations on the topic with lawmakers from both parties, and that the result of not passing an extension would be devastating.