Video Transcript: Healthcare hardships: The ongoing impact of the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies expiration
Jordan Bellassi: Health care is really under attack.
Moira Vaughan: Health organization leaders like Jordan Belaassi say national healthcare funding cuts into 2026 could create widespread problems.
Bellassai: It’s not just going to affect our health system; it’s going to affect our whole communities.
Vaughan: As of January, the U.S. Senate has not approved the extension of the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies. The program reduced healthcare premium costs to make insurance more affordable.
Todd Sahm: Who’s a good boy?
Vaughan: Small-business owners of Sweet Paws Pet Grooming Todd Sahm, and his wife Shelly, now face a difficult decision.
Sahm: When the ACA came out, we ended up paying about $400 for both of us. Our premiums jumped from around $900 to $1600 or $1600 plus a month.
Vaughan: A decision that’s forcing the Sahms to choose between paying for healthcare or parts of their company.
Sahm: The only other option is to literally lay off someone here, so that I could take the money from that and take care of my health insurance, but I’m not willing to do that.
Vaughan: Not too far away in Liverpool, Lisa Paul works three part-time jobs, on top of being her husband Doug’s full-time caregiver.
Lisa Paul: Good job! You did it! I married my best, I have my best friend.
Vaughan: Doug suffered a stroke in his 30s. In November, Lisa got a letter stating that she will no longer qualify for the essential plan under the ACA in July.
Paul: You don’t believe it until you get a letter in the mail that says it’s true, you’re going to be cut off on July first.
Vaughan: In January, Donald Trump announced The Great Healthcare Plan. The proposal would expand the catastrophic plan that aims to give coverage that lessens hospital bills.
Bellassai: Whether it is out of pocket or in an emergency room, it’s more expensive for you.
Paul: I can’t get sick. I can’t afford to get sick with him. I’m his primary caregiver.
Sahm: We keep them as happy and healthy as we possibly can.
Vaughan: According to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan healthcare policy institute, healthcare costs are one of the top concerns for voters in the 2026 midterms.
Sahm: We have to try to figure out a way as a country to solve this problem together. And the only way I think we can do that is to put the right people in office.
Vaughan: As lawmakers discuss the future of healthcare policies, families across the country are waiting to see what comes next. Moira Vaughan, NCC News.
Lisa Paul: Are we best friends?
Doug Paul: We’re best friends.
SYRACUSE, NY (NCC News) – Some U.S. Senators are firm in their decision to continue voting against the extension of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium subsidies into 2026 due to fiscal and post-pandemic concerns.
Without the help of the subsidies to reduce healthcare insurance costs, KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group, estimates the average premium price to rise by 75% for over 22 million Americans under the ACA – also known as ObamaCare.
“When the ACA came out, we ended up paying about $400 for my wife and me,” said Todd Sahm, owner of Sweet Paws Pet Grooming and Boarding in Cicero. “Our premiums jumped from around $900 to $1600 or $1600 plus a month when the premium subsidies expired.”
The Sahms have been battling with their healthcare for years. Shelly, Todd’s wife, needs consistent medication and check-ups to manage her Lupus diagnosis. Todd, a three-time cancer survivor, now suffers from pancreatitis, but can’t afford the surgeries and medication to treat the condition without the subsidies.
“I’m supposed to take digestive enzymes every month, which, out of pocket, is $6,000 a month,” said Sahm. “I really need this surgery, and I can’t afford to get it done.”
An increase in costs forced the Sahms to choose between paying the price for their healthcare or losing parts of their dog-grooming and boarding business.
“The only other option is to literally lay off someone here, so that I could take the money from that and take care of my health insurance, but I’m not willing to do that, ” Sahm shares.“We’ve built a family here. I can’t bring myself to change that for the things we need.”
The Sahms are not alone in facing difficult decisions.
“We know that the enhanced premium tax credits were crucial in allowing 146,000 New Yorkers to have access to high-quality health care,” said Jordan Bellassai, program officer of the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.
“Between those and the Medicaid cuts that we are going to see implemented over the next couple of years, health care is really under attack,” said Bellassai.
Not too far away in Liverpool, Lisa Paul works three part-time jobs, on top of being her husband Doug’s full-time caregiver. Doug suffered a stroke in his 30s, losing the majority of his ability to move his muscles alone, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
“We’re a team!” said Lisa and Doug Saul, in unison.
In November, Lisa received a letter stating that she would no longer qualify for the essential plan, a healthcare plan under the ACA, effective July first. Her part-time jobs do not offer healthcare coverage.
“You hear different things about them going to cut this plan and that plan, and you don’t believe it, until you get a letter in the mail that says it’s true,” said Lisa. “I can’t get sick. I can’t afford to get sick. I’m his primary caregiver.”
“What happens if I get sick? Who will take care of Doug?”
Aware of the rising costs of healthcare, President Trump announced The Great Health Care Plan in January. One of the goals of the plan is to lower prices by expanding a healthcare program called the Catastrophic Plan.
“Without coverage, it’s going to be more expensive for you, both in paying for care out of pocket or the emergency room,” said Bellassai.
“Those who have chronic illnesses like my wife and I, we do incur higher health bills,” said Sahm. “The plan is just too expensive for my wife and I.”
KFF also states that health care is one of the top concerns for voters, as they head to the polls in the 2026 midterms.
In an uncertain future, Todd is hopeful that healthcare assistance is at the forefront of initiatives for many running politicians.
“We have to try to figure out a way as a country to solve this problem together,” said Sahm. “And the only way I think we can do that is to put the right people in office.”