Long Islander braces for impact on her health insurance if shutdown deal struck
Krystal Wolfe, 36, of Seaford, said she may need to drop her health insurance if the enhanced subsidies aren’t extended, even though she needs treatment for an autoimmune disease. She said she is “very, very furious with the eight Democrats who caved in in the Senate.”
Wolfe said the agreement to allow a Senate vote on the tax credit extension is almost meaningless because, she believes, “I have no faith whatsoever in the Republicans that they will have any good-faith negotiations at all.”
Wolfe, a tutor and retail employee, currently qualifies for a state plan with $0 in premiums for those earning up to 250% of the federal poverty level. But Congress this summer eliminated federal funding for that program. As of July 1, people like Wolfe who earn between $31,300 and $39,125 a year for an individual — the upper limit of the plan — will lose coverage.
Wolfe said she may be able to pay up to $100 a month in premiums, but “if it’s more than that, I will not be able to do it.”
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
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