Thousands of Mainers are living without health insurance since premiums skyrocketed 

At the start of this year, Rachel Phipps, a 64-year-old retired social worker, decided to forego her health insurance. 

After Congress failed to extend pandemic-era tax credits, her household’s monthly premium increased from $200 per month to more than $2,800. The Kennebunk resident, who currently works part time, said this would have eaten up almost half of her and her husband’s annual income. 

“We literally have no insurance. We’re terrified of a major accident, or even just a diagnosis,” Phipps said. She already has a respiratory infection and precancerous skin cells she has to manage with topical chemotherapy. “If I need treatment, it’ll all have to come out of pocket,” she added.

Phipps is one of the many Mainers who are seeing their health care costs skyrocket following the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits, which had helped subsidize the cost of marketplace health insurance for millions of Americans, including approximately 60,000 in the Pine Tree State.