September 11, 2025
In letters sent this week to Minnesota’s congressional delegation, the MMA is urging action to extend the enhanced advance premium tax credits (APTCs), which have helped more than 24 million Americans afford ACA Marketplace coverage in 2025.
The enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. Absent congressional action before then, millions of Americans—including many older adults, small business owners, and those in rural areas—will face steep premium increases or lose coverage entirely.
The MMA’s call for action was made in coordination with other state medical associations across the country, and with the AMA.
“By allowing the tax credits to expire, Congress is actively taking critical support away from working families,” said the letter signed by the MMA and other state medical associations. “Currently, a family of four is saving an average of $2,400 per year on their premiums thanks to the tax credits. At a time when too many people struggle to pay their bills, working people cannot afford to pay 75% higher premiums for their health insurance, including 3.3 million self-employed workers and small business owners, farmers and those living in rural communities, older adults not yet eligible for Medicare, and many others.”
The expected impact of the expiring tax credits was reflected in action this week from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which announced a new policy, effective this 2025 open enrollment season, that allows people of any age to enroll in catastrophic health plans if they are ineligible for premium tax credits. Previously, federal guidance limited catastrophic plan offerings to people younger than 30 years old – a restriction designed to deter older adults from selecting low-premium products that would render them underinsured.
While this new policy technically expands access to affordable coverage, the MMA emphasizes that the high cost-sharing associated with catastrophic coverage will lead to more patients delaying and/or forgoing care. The MMA supports policy solutions that make insurance products with adequate coverage (i.e., silver plans, gold plans) more affordable, including the extension of enhanced premium tax credits.
For more information, contact Adrian Uphoff, manager of health policy and regulatory affairs.
October 23, 2025
The MMA, along with the University of Minnesota Medical School, will hold a virtual physician forum on November 5 at noon on “Health Professions Education and Minnesota's Rural Health Workforce.”
October 23, 2025
AMA staff have confirmed that, as of October 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has guided Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to lift their temporary holds on Medicare fee-for-service claims impacted by provisions that expired on October 1 – including all Medicare fee-for-service claims in Minnesota.
October 23, 2025
For the second time in eight weeks, national grief expert David J. Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, visited Minneapolis. The first trip was days after the Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting when he met with school leaders to help with the healing process. He returned October 21 to revisit the school and to meet with local healthcare providers at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) to offer tips on dealing with the aftermath of crisis.