TM(Advertisement)
Tube City Community Media Inc. is seeking freelance writers to help cover city council, news and feature stories in McKeesport, Duquesne, White Oak and the neighboring communities. High school and college students seeking work experience are encouraged to apply; we are willing to work with students who need credit toward class assignments. Please send cover letter, resume, two writing samples and the name of a reference (an employer, supervisor, teacher, etc. -- not a relative) to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
Ads start at $1 per day, minimum seven days.
Health Insurance Costs Up as ACA Credits Expire
Experts: 496K Pennsylvanians paying $581 more per year
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
January 05, 2026
Posted in: State & Region
It may not feel much like a happy New Year for the almost half-million Pennsylvanians who rely on plans from the Affordable Care Act marketplace for their health coverage. Enhanced federal tax credits have expired, raising monthly premiums for an estimated 21 million Americans who get their coverage through the ACA.
Tori Baggot, owner of SuperMutt Press, a small, custom printing business near Pittsburgh, said the increase came as an unwelcome surprise — and that ACA tax credits through Pennie, the state marketplace, have been her best option for affordable health coverage.
“I was paying $197 a month for this whole past year for the care that I have,” she explained. “And the same plan — I didn’t change a single thing, I re-enrolled in the same plan — it went from $197 (to) $365.”
More than 496,000 Pennsylvanians on the state ACA marketplace will pay an average of $581 more a year for their health insurance. Congress departed Washington, D.C., for the holiday break without renewing the health-care tax credits. The U.S. House is set to vote on the subsidies sometime this month – although that doesn’t help people who’ve already made their coverage decisions.
Baggot said getting coverage through her husband’s small employer would have cost about $600 a month, so she’s restructuring her budget around her own ACA coverage.
As a sole proprietor, she said health insurance is now her largest business expense, and said she can’t imagine the strain on families. She added she is managing a chronic illness, and relies on affordable marketplace coverage to stay healthy.
“I have a hypermobility spectrum disorder, and I have all these specialists that I see frequently to manage pain and other symptoms,” she said. “And I can’t just upend my care team that I’ve spent years building. I have to pay the higher price. I have no other option.”
Pennsylvania hospitals and clinics already strained by what advocates call the largest health-care cuts in history now face another $229 million funding loss as premium tax credits end and insurance costs rise, statewide.
Originally published January 05, 2026.
In other news:
"No Tax Increase in 20…" || "Traffic Restrictions …"