RELEASE: Gottheimer Rallies with Local Health Care Workers, Fights for Extending Tax Credits that Make Health Care Affordable

Above: Gottheimer joins local health care workers to demand an extension of ACA enhanced premium tax credits.

PARAMUS, NJ —Today, September 22, 2025, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) stood with local health care workers at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center to sound the alarm on the looming expiration of the critical Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits at the end of this year.

Gottheimer is calling on Senate and House leadership to come together in a bipartisan way, fund the government, and extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits. Gottheimer stressed the urgency of the moment, with government funding running out in eight days and the tax credits expiring at the end of the year.

Video of Gottheimer’s announcement can be found here.

“Despite what many of us demanded, the far-right refused to include an extension of the health care premium tax credits in the partisan budget they passed. As a result, these tax credits will expire at the end of the year,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “That means right here in New Jersey, more than 454,000 people who rely on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or healthcare.gov — including 38,000 in my District alone — will see their health care premiums skyrocket beginning in January. We’re talking about 22 million families across the country.”

Gottheimer continued, “We must extend the ACA tax credits as a part of the budget. We must keep the government funded in a responsible, bipartisan way that doesn’t abandon our families. Yet, right now, the far-right in Congress are refusing to negotiate with us to get this done. These aren’t red issues or blue issues — they are about affordable health care for our families and children.”

“Extending the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits is critical. Without them New Jersey families could face higher costs and lose the peace of mind that comes with knowing they can see a doctor when they need to. We’re grateful for Congressman Gottheimer’s leadership—because preserving these subsidies is about keeping our neighbors healthy and ensuring families don’t have to choose between medical care and other essentials,” said New Jersey Hospital Association President and CEO Cathy Bennett.

Urgent Need to Extend ACA Premium Tax Credits

• If the ACA enhanced premium tax credits expire, 22 million people across the country will see their health insurance premiums skyrocket, and 4.2 million families will be kicked off their health insurance altogether.
  • In New Jersey, more than 454,000 people who rely on the Affordable Care Act — including 38,000 in the Fifth District alone — will see their GetCoveredNJ premiums skyrocket. 
  • More than 180,000 Jersey residents will lose their health care because they will not be able to afford these increases.
• A family of four in Bergen County with a household income of around $130,000 would see a premium increase of more than $20,000 a year.
  • That’s a 114% increase that would take a 30% chunk out of their income — more than $1,700 a month. 
• In the U.S., health care spending increased about 8% in 2024. 
• Jersey families already pay 15% more than the national average for health care. 
• With all these rising costs, 85% of hardworking Jersey families wake up worrying about their health care costs every day.

Gottheimer was joined by Deborah Visconi, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center President & CEO; Sarah Lechner, Hackensack Meridian Health Senior Vice President & Chief of External Affairs; and doctors, nurses, and health care workers.

Below: Gottheimer joins local health care workers to demand an extension of ACA enhanced premium tax credits.

Gottheimer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Good afternoon. It’s always good to be back at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center here in Paramus, but I wish we were showing up with better news. 

The doctors, nurses, and techs with me, like so many across New Jersey, provide world-class health care to our families, around-the-clock every single day. Especially after this budget the far-right jammed through the House of Representatives last week, the problem is that Americans just won’t be able to afford it. Despite what many of us demanded, the far-right refused to include an extension of the health care premium tax credits in the partisan budget they passed. As a result, these tax credits will expire at the end of the year.  

That means right here in New Jersey, more than 454,000 people who rely on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or healthcare.gov — including 38,000 in my District alone — will see their health care premiums skyrocket beginning in January. We’re talking about 22 million families across the country.  

More than 4 million will lose their health care altogether nationally, and more than 180,000 in Jersey, because they won’t be able to afford these increases. Letting these enhanced health care tax credits expire will create a new tax on hard-working families, with a Fifth District family of four in Bergen County with a household income of around $130,000 seeing a premium increase of more than 20,000 dollars a year. That’s a 114 percent increase that would take a 30 percent chunk out of their income. That is more than $1,700 a month.  

With higher costs on nearly everything, from groceries, to child care, to energy bills, we must do everything we can to fight higher health insurance costs. Premiums are out of control as it is — we can’t afford for it to get worse. In the U.S., health care spending increased about eight percent in 2024. Jersey families already pay fifteen percent more than the national average for health care. With all these rising costs, 85 percent of hard-working Jersey families wake up worrying about their health care costs every day.   

Because the ACA tax credits are expiring, insurance companies preemptively raised premiums next year on average by eighteen percent. That’s the highest increase since 2018. The combined effect of the premium increases and the expiring tax credits means millions of Americans are about to pay a lot more for their health insurance, if they can afford it at all.   

Why would we let these enhanced tax credits expire and undo all of the progress we are making? It doesn’t make any sense. Having access to health care can literally mean the difference between life and death. For years here in the great Garden State, those who don’t get insurance through their jobs, could access all the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. This year, more than half a million residents enrolled in a health plan through our state’s ACA program called Get Covered New Jersey — a 108 percent increase since the program first launched and a 30 percent increase over last year. This helped lower the state’s uninsured rate to below eight percent.

Yet, President Trump’s allies in Congress and some on the far-right here in Jersey are just letting it happen. They’re standing on the sidelines and haven’t said a thing to fight these looming premium hikes. Nothing about this reckless budget the far-right jammed through last week. Nothing about protecting our families from skyrocketing ACA premiums. 

They also did nothing to stop the disastrous parts of the One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this year, or the Big F’ed Up Bill, as I like to call it — which is a direct assault on Jersey families. 

It guts health care for seniors, makes the largest cut to Medicaid in history, and strips critical federal dollars from our State. Nearly 14 million seniors and children will likely lose their health care — including 1.7 million here in Jersey. In Northern New Jersey, nearly 90,000 people, including 30,000 children and 13,000 seniors, get their health care through programs like NJ Family Care, which will take a serious hit. And, just to cap it off, Trump’s Big F’ed Up Bill leaves Jersey to pick up the tab — whacking hard-working families with a new $3,300-per-year Trump Tax to cover all the health care dollars it will steal from our state.

The enhanced premium tax credits don’t just help families, they also help hospitals like Bergen New Bridge provide better coverage to more families. When you gut the ACA and Medicaid, it means fewer families will get quality health care. 

It’s clear that we need to continue building on this progress to get costs for medical bills down. Yet for some reason, this Administration is pulling the rug out from under families, crushing the ACA, forcing premiums up, and making devastating cuts to Medicaid. And many far-right Republicans in our state are just watching it happen without saying a thing.

That’s why we are standing here today, to stand with our health care providers and families instead of against them, and to fight for a better solution. We must extend the ACA tax credits as a part of the budget. We must keep the government funded in a responsible, bipartisan way that doesn’t abandon our families. Yet, right now, the far-right in Congress are refusing to negotiate with us to get this done. Believe me, I’m trying to work with them, but so far, it’s been crickets.

As a bipartisan problem solver, I am all for bringing everyone to the table to deliver for Jersey and our country. That’s why I am sending a letter calling on Congressional leadership in both the House and Senate to extend the ACA premium tax credits in the budget and help protect affordable health care for families. As I’ve said, let’s come together, fund the government in a bipartisan way, and extend these tax credits. We have eight days to make this happen before the government shuts down. Let’s include an extension of the ACA premiums in any funding or budget deal and get this done for our families. It’s a win for our families, our health care, and our country. 

We can’t just let this assistance, which is a critical lifeline for families, just expire at the end of the year.

Families will soon be enrolling in insurance plans during open enrollment, which begins in November. They deserve the clarity of knowing they can actually afford them when the portal to enroll in coverage closes in December. We can’t just let families get whacked by thousands of dollars in premium increases. We have an opportunity to work together to prevent a financial disaster from wrecking Jersey pocketbooks. We must get this done. And, I’m not going to stop fighting until we do.

These aren’t red issues or blue issues — they are about affordable health care for our families and children. It’s time to put politics aside, work across the aisle, and stand up for the thousands of families who just want affordable health care.

If we do that, and work together to stand up to extremism and protect our communities, here in the greatest country in the world, our best days will always be ahead of us.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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