NASHVILLE – Today, the U.S. Senate voted on whether to extend critical enhanced ACA tax credits that nearly 600,000 Tennesseans rely on. Instead of protecting health care for each and every Tennessee family, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty voted to let health care premiums skyrocket across Tennessee.

Because of their vote today, Tennessee families will see their monthly health care premiums increase by an average of 114% beginning January 1st. This marks the highest premium spike since the Affordable Care Act was passed. Their vote guarantees that hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans will face premiums that double or more in 2026.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Rachel Campbell released the following statement:

“Trump and Republicans are more focused on gilded ballrooms and bankrolling billionaires than stopping Tennesseans’ health care costs from skyrocketing. Today’s vote proves it.

Instead of extending the enhanced ACA tax credits that nearly 600,000 Tennesseans rely on, a clean, common sense proposal supported by nearly 75% of Americans, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty voted to let premiums rise by 114% for families already squeezed by the cost of groceries, gas, and housing. 

This comes on the heels of a health care crisis Republicans already created. 68,000 Tennesseans are losing their health insurance as a result of Trump and Republican’s Big Ugly Bill, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Now, Republicans remain hellbent on making health care even more expensive for working families, small business owners, gig workers, rural communities, and farmers, forcing many to choose between going broke to pay for coverage or going without and risking medical debt, a leading cause of bankruptcy.

This is a matter of life and death. Tennessee Republicans must stop choosing Trump and their billionaire buddies over their own constituents. Tennessee Democrats will continue fighting to lower costs, protect health care, and ensure every Tennessee family can access the coverage they deserve.”