The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) marked a significant victory for Ohioans, delivering on President Trump’s promise to lower taxes and spur prosperity across the nation. From the elimination of the tax on tips, 100 percent bonus depreciation, and make the Trump Tax Cuts permanent. Unfortunately, Congress now faces a looming health care tax hike that could impair the benefits of the OBBA and the hard work that Congress put into its passage.
Premium tax Credits (PTC) will expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts soon. PTCs help millions of eligible Ohioians buy their health insurance through the individual marketplace, enabling them to afford their premiums and out-of-pocket costs. If Congress allows these critical tax credits to expire, folks will face a dramatic tax hike that will result in premium increases for millions and loss of coverage for many.
The expiration of PTC will lead to real, unintended consequences for Bob and Betty Buckeye. We are already seeing the potential fallout: premiums will increase by as much as 28.9 percent next year if the tax credits expire. Ohioans voted for a new administration and a Republican-controlled Congress to usher in economic growth and security, not hardship and sky-high healthcare costs. Congress must preserve these critical tax credits before the end of the year.
The expiration of PTCs will exacerbate the problem of healthcare access in rural Ohio, where communities already suffer from limited access to quality care. Healthcare consumers will suffer if PTCs expire. As costs rise and more patients lose their insurance, providers will close or relocate, leaving these communities with very few – and in some cases, no – options for health care.
Expiration of PTCs will also be devastating for small businesses, nearly a quarter of which rely on PTCs to provide health insurance for themselves and their employees. In Ohio, entrepreneurs would have no choice but to lay off employees or shutter their businesses entirely when faced with staggering health care prices, leading to hardship in our local economies and our families.
Allowing PTCs to expire spells trouble for Republicans’ Congressional majority, too. A new poll from Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio warns that voters will express their frustration at the ballot box during next year’s midterm elections if they are hit this year with a health care tax hike. The poll finds House Democrats would lead Republicans in tough races by double digits if the GOP-led chamber allows PTCs to expire. As a proud Republican, I urge Republican lawmakers to preserve these tax credits and, in doing so, preserve their majority.
Passage of the OBBBA demonstrates Republican lawmakers’ dedication to lowering taxes and fostering economic prosperity for hard working Americans. Preserving premium tax credits is an extension of these principles at the core of our party – and something leaders such as Senator Husted, as well as Representatives Max Miller, Mike Turner, Mike Rulli, David Joyce, and Mike Carey, who are facing reelection in 2026, should take particular note of.
The Ohioans who rely on PTCs are our neighbors and my former constituents. They’re small business owners, self-employed workers, or people working more than one job, and folks who work the land. These aren’t people looking for a handout – they are hard working Americans playing by the rules. Congress must do right by them and preserve these critical tax credits and build on the victories created by the OBBBA.
