At the end of the month, the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that millions of Americans rely on to make health insurance remotely affordable expire. It didn’t have to be this way, but Congressional Republicans are still angry that Barack Obama passed a popular health care law 15 years ago and Democratic Party leadership cannot abide standing up for something when cowardice is also an option. The Republicans have promised something “better,” but have yet to come up with a single proposal over the past decade and a half because the last time they tried to get behind a health care policy in the early 1990s to counter Bill Clinton’s campaign promises they rallied behind managed competition… which is, you know, Obamacare.
Since their last attempt at specifics ended up becoming a Black president’s signature achievement, the Republicans have resisted any effort to take another swing at it.
But for real people, the numbers are brutal. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, marketplace enrollees will see their premium payments more than double on average — “a 114% increase from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.” The Congressional Budget Office projects up to 4 million people could lose coverage entirely. A 60-year-old couple earning just over 400% of the federal poverty level could see their annual premiums jump to $22,600.
Lawyers have health insurance through their employers, so this isn’t going to impact them directly. Unless the economy tanks and we get a run of layoffs… so maybe next year. In the meantime, among the millions of affected Americans are a lot of nannies.
And nannies, as it happens, provide a lot of structural support for Biglaw productivity. The day-to-day reality of billing 2200+ hours while raising children depends heavily on the domestic workers who make it all possible. Workers who, unlike Biglaw associates, don’t have employer-sponsored health insurance rely heavily on the exchanges.
What happens when nannies can’t afford to keep wiping little Billy’s nose without healthcare of their own? Losing a nanny because they can no longer afford health insurance creates real disruption for lawyers. The recruiting hassle involved in replacing a good nanny rivals any attorney lateral search. Are lawyers going to step up and cover the difference for their in-home workers?
Interestingly, we’ve heard unverified rumors that at least one Biglaw firm may be working on a solution to help folks close the ACA subsidy gap for non-firm household employees: nannies, home health aides, and the other domestic workers who purchase insurance on the exchanges.
It sounds like a good idea, one that can generate significant goodwill while protecting productivity. But is this actually happening? And where?
If your firm is offering any kind of benefit, subsidy, or support related to the expiring ACA subsidies, we want to hear about it. Email us at tips@abovethelaw.com.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post ACA Health Care Premiums Are Spiking… Is Your Firm Doing Anything About It? appeared first on Above the Law.
At the end of the month, the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that millions of Americans rely on to make health insurance remotely affordable expire. It didn’t have to be this way, but Congressional Republicans are still angry that Barack Obama passed a popular health care law 15 years ago and Democratic Party leadership cannot abide standing up for something when cowardice is also an option. The Republicans have promised something “better,” but have yet to come up with a single proposal over the past decade and a half because the last time they tried to get behind a health care policy in the early 1990s to counter Bill Clinton’s campaign promises they rallied behind managed competition… which is, you know, Obamacare.
Since their last attempt at specifics ended up becoming a Black president’s signature achievement, the Republicans have resisted any effort to take another swing at it.
But for real people, the numbers are brutal. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, marketplace enrollees will see their premium payments more than double on average — “a 114% increase from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.” The Congressional Budget Office projects up to 4 million people could lose coverage entirely. A 60-year-old couple earning just over 400% of the federal poverty level could see their annual premiums jump to $22,600.
Lawyers have health insurance through their employers, so this isn’t going to impact them directly. Unless the economy tanks and we get a run of layoffs… so maybe next year. In the meantime, among the millions of affected Americans are a lot of nannies.
And nannies, as it happens, provide a lot of structural support for Biglaw productivity. The day-to-day reality of billing 2200+ hours while raising children depends heavily on the domestic workers who make it all possible. Workers who, unlike Biglaw associates, don’t have employer-sponsored health insurance rely heavily on the exchanges.
What happens when nannies can’t afford to keep wiping little Billy’s nose without healthcare of their own? Losing a nanny because they can no longer afford health insurance creates real disruption for lawyers. The recruiting hassle involved in replacing a good nanny rivals any attorney lateral search. Are lawyers going to step up and cover the difference for their in-home workers?
Interestingly, we’ve heard unverified rumors that at least one Biglaw firm may be working on a solution to help folks close the ACA subsidy gap for non-firm household employees: nannies, home health aides, and the other domestic workers who purchase insurance on the exchanges.
It sounds like a good idea, one that can generate significant goodwill while protecting productivity. But is this actually happening? And where?
If your firm is offering any kind of benefit, subsidy, or support related to the expiring ACA subsidies, we want to hear about it. Email us at tips@abovethelaw.com.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post ACA Health Care Premiums Are Spiking… Is Your Firm Doing Anything About It? appeared first on Above the Law.
