“People won't survive.” An ax over the heads of millions of Americans. And the clock is ticking

Financial assistance from the HealthWell Foundation, one of the nation's largest charities, is available this year by 23 percent higher than in the entire last year. Claims have flooded into a fund launched this month to help consumers offset higher Obamacare premiums that are likely to follow after the subsidies expire. This meant that the fund stopped accepting new applicants after just two days.

In turn, Colorectal Cancer Alliance [organizacja pomagająca osobom zmagającym się z rakiem jelita grubego] noted 26 percent increase in the number of applications year-on-year, and CancerCare [organizacja pomagająca ludziom chorym na nowotwór]she noted 10 percent increase in the number of applications on a year-to-year basis.

Michael Heimall, CEO of HealthWell, expects the increase in applications for assistance to continue next year. He is concerned about whether donors, who are also under price pressure, will be able to maintain or increase their contributions.

I don't see the demand curve leveling out in the foreseeable future. As the economy deteriorates, donors must make decisions about whether to donate to a charity or invest in something they need

– says Heimall.

Trump under pressure. Americans have had enough

The pressure on health care charities, often a lifeline for low-income Americans, comes as Americans grapple with rising health care costs. Donald Trump and Republican congressmen feel increasing pressure to lower prices of drugs and services in the health care system.

Kush Desai, White House spokesman, blames Democrats for higher health care costs.

“Democrats' pursuit of keeping prices high by giving more money to insurance companies is not a real solution for President Trump,” he said. — Instead, the president focused on lowering the cost of prescription drugs by negotiating contracts with pharmaceutical companies, as well as fighting waste, fraud and abuse in the system to ensure better outcomes for patients.

So far, five drugmakers, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly, have struck deals with the president to lower drug prices in exchange for tariff relief. Additionally, the administration announced on Wednesday that negotiated lower prices for 15 expensive drugs. Republicans say this will save seniors on Medicare drug plans $685 million. [2,5 mld zł]when the new prices come into force in 2027.

Although the vast majority of Americans are insured through Medicare, Medicaid or a private plan, a growing share of them say they have difficulty paying their bills. The amounts of own contribution to medical costs are constantly increasing, often exceeding the increase in wages.

According to a POLITICO poll from November this year. Nearly half of U.S. adults worry about their ability to pay for health care costs in the next year, and nearly 20 percent of them claim that it can be quite a challenge.

Although the Trump administration is working to lower prices, the effects are small. Inflation remains stable at around 3%. since Trump took office in January this year. Moreover, Americans are tired after years of skyrocketing prices. Inflation peaked at over 9%. in 2022

“It just built up over time and there was no break,” says Vivian Ho, chair of health economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. — Trump's economy doesn't focus on the root causes of why health care costs are so high in this country.

Fighting against time. Congressmen can't reach an agreement

The number of applications for assistance reflects the percentage of uninsured people, amounting to 8%.as well as the number of people who have to pay high deductibles or have limited insurance coverage. Awareness about aid programs has also increased. While drugmakers offer help to uninsured people or patients on private insurance plans, they cannot help patients on Medicare and Medicaid, leaving charities to fill the gap. Assistance programs are disease-specific and vary by charity, and patients undergo income, diagnosis and insurance checks before receiving assistance.

Health charities are preparing for a surge in aid applications in January, when increased Obamacare subsidies expire. Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are considering extending them but can't agree on the details. Some conservative lawmakers are happy with eliminating subsidies that Democrats increased in the 2021 pandemic relief bill. The increased subsidies made insurance plans free for many people and offered Obamacare subsidies for the first time to people earning more than 400%. poverty level.

If Congress takes no action, subsidies will return to the original levels set in 2010. An analysis by KFF, a health care think tank, found that insurers increased premiums by an average of 26%. in ACA markets [potocznie Obamacare; to amerykańska federalna ustawa reformująca system opieki zdrowotnej w Stanach Zjednoczonych] for 2026 while waiting for the grant to expire. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan performance review agency, estimates that 4 million Americans will lose insurance if increased subsidies expire.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law in July, included nearly $1 trillion in cuts. [3,66 bln dol.] in Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people, within 10 years. CBO [agencja federalna rządu USA dostarczająca Kongresowi danych ekonomicznych] expects to cause this exclusion of approximately 10 million people from the program by 2034.in many cases. This will include failure to comply with new rules requiring people to work, volunteer or attend school for 80 hours a month. These requirements will not come into force until 2027.

Democrats made extending Obamacare subsidies their top demand during the administration's historic six-week shutdown [shutdown]which ended earlier this month. The White House plan, which was leaked last weekend, would extend the subsidy for two years with an income cap and no free plans.

However, Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he does not support this solution. Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill are considering a variety of bills, including one that would encourage more people to join plans with high deductibles while redirecting subsidies to tax-advantaged accounts that could be used to cover deductibles or premiums. Trump supported this idea.

However, so far there is no indication that either plan has enough votes to pass. Charities are concernede.

Some of them, including Patient Access Network Foundation, Blood Cancer United [organizacja pomagająca osobom z nowotworem krwi] and Colorectal Cancer Alliance, are calling on Congress to extend the grant.

Extend current tax breaks on contributions. The lives of these Americans are too important to be left in limbo while Congress writes new policy on a napkin

says Brian Connell, vice president of federal affairs for Blood Cancer United, during a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month.

Blood Cancer United spent $1.3 million. [4,7 mln zł] for lobbying in the first nine months of this year, surpassing the total amount spent in any year on record.

The inability to pay medical bills “will be fatal for many people,” says Erin Ercoline, executive director of the ThriveWell Cancer Foundation, which provides financial assistance to pay for treatment, transportation and housing for cancer patients in San Antonio.

Ercoline estimates that ThriveWell has provided approximately $2.2 million in financial assistance to 1,500 patients this year, the highest amount on record except for the Covid-19 pandemic. About three out of four patients are denied help.

People will not survive a completely curable disease due to lack of insurance

– says Ercoline.