Mrvan votes to reinstate expired federal health insurance subsidies

U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, was one of just two Indiana congressmen to vote in favor of reinstating expired health insurance subsidies for Hoosiers who purchase health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.

An unusual coalition of 213 House Democrats and 17 Republicans, none from Indiana, advanced the measure through the U.S. House on Thursday — notwithstanding the opposition of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.

Similar bipartisan support likely will be needed to win approval in the Republican-controlled Senate and return the cost of marketplace health plans to something closer to their 2024 amounts, rather than the astronomical, unsubsidized prices tens of thousands of Hoosiers, and millions of Americans, currently are paying to maintain health coverage.

Mrvan said it was an easy decision to back a three-year extension of the enhanced ACA premium tax credits.

"Hoosiers are already struggling with the rising costs of food and utilities every single day, leaving many unable to make ends meet at the end of the month," he said.

"My job is to make sure each and every day that I make life affordable and a little bit easier for individuals, and that they have access to health care."

Mrvan noted more than 24,000 people in Northwest Indiana rely on ACA tax credits to purchase health insurance, including Sarah, a small business owner from LaPorte, whose cost for family coverage skyrocketed to $4,000 a month from $1,500 a month without the subsidies.

"The goal of the vote was to make it a little bit easier and to make sure that those individuals who rely on the ACA for health care have the ability to have access, and for everyday Americans to be able to provide for their families and to be able to provide health care," Mrvan said.

Mrvan was joined by U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indianapolis, in supporting reinstatement of the ACA subsidies.

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Granger, and five other House Republicans from Indiana all voted "no," while U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, R-Greencastle, was absent following a vehicle crash.