WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement after the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) began sending out notices for 2026 health insurance premium rates through the Virginia Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace:

“Throughout the day today, more and more Virginians will receive notices that their health care premiums will go up significantly next year because Republicans have refused to extend critical Affordable Care Act tax credits. Families are already facing higher financial stress due to the rising cost of groceries and other basic necessities, and there’s no reason Congress shouldn’t be able to fix the health care premium issue so millions of Americans can keep their health care. It’s up to President Trump and congressional Republicans to decide whether and when they want to engage and work with Democrats to extend the ACA tax credits and reopen the government.”

In August, the Virginia SCC released its proposed individual and small group health insurance premiums for plan year 2026, with most insurers proposing average increases of 20 percent or higher. Millions of Americans will see higher health care premiums when they go to sign up for health insurance through their state marketplace due to the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits at the end of the year.

Warner and Kaine have advocated for the extension of enhanced premium tax credits under the ACA, but Republicans have refused to extend them to prevent health care costs from skyrocketing and keep millions of Americans from losing their health insurance. Democrats have asked Republicans for months to address the expiration of the ACA tax credits, and have proposed legislation to extend them and reopen the government. However, Republicans have blocked the bill’s passage. A new analysis shows that not extending the tax credits will have disastrous effects on Virginia.

With the government shut down, Warner and Kaine continue to push to reopen the government and protect Americans’ health care. Earlier this month, the senators sounded the alarm about the rise in monthly health care costs for Virginians under the ACA. The effort to prevent health care premiums from skyrocketing comes just months after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans slashed Medicaid to offset the cost of billionaire tax cuts in the Republican budget law.

###