OCA Calls on Congress to Restore ACA Subsidies
For Immediate Release
December 16, 2025
Media Contact:
Socheata Sun, Senior Communications Associate
socheata.sun@ocanational.org
Washington, D.C. — OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates expresses deep disappointment in Congress’s failure to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies. This decision will leave millions of Americans, including countless Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) families, facing steep increases in health insurance premiums at the start of the new year.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the nation’s primary healthcare law, which expanded insurance access, protected individuals with pre-existing conditions, and created marketplaces where people can purchase affordable coverage. Without action, many households will experience dramatic price hikes that force painful trade-offs between maintaining health coverage and affording necessities such as food, transportation, and housing.
The expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits will impact more than 1.5 million Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, many of whom rely on marketplace health plans due to self-employment, small-business employment, or the lack of employer-sponsored coverage. When the tax credits expire, AANHPIs in every state will face significant increases in health care costs, with an estimated 156,000 individuals losing access to zero-cost plans. Health policy experts warn that millions of people nationwide could lose coverage in 2026 if no legislative fix is implemented.
“Congress has turned its back on working families at the very moment they need support the most,” said Thu Nguyen, Executive Director of OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates. “My own family has to confront the harsh reality of these rising costs. Without the renewal of the ACA tax credits, my father has decided to go without insurance so that my mother, a nail salon owner of 22 years, can stay covered and continue receiving the care she needs. No family should be forced into choices like that. Yet by failing to act, lawmakers have made that a reality for millions. We call on lawmakers to prioritize people over politics and ensure that no one has to sacrifice their health because of rising costs.”
OCA urges Congress to immediately restore and extend the enhanced premium subsidies and work toward long-term solutions that protect access to affordable, high-quality health care for all. OCA also encourages community members to contact their elected officials and share how the loss of ACA subsidies would affect them and their families.
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About OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates
Founded in 1973, OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national, member-driven social justice organization of community advocates dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs). Learn more about our work at ocanational.org/about.