By Daniel Chang

KFF Health News

MIAMI — Josefina Muralles works a part-time overnight shift as a receptionist at a Miami Beach condominium so that during the day she can care for her three kids, her aging mother, and her brother, who is paralyzed.

She helps her mother feed, bathe, and give medicine to her adult brother, Rodrigo Muralles, who has epilepsy and became disabled after contracting covid-19 in 2020.

“He lives because we feed him and take care of his personal needs,” said Josefina Muralles, 41. “He doesn’t say, ‘I need this or that.’ He has forgotten everything.”

Though her husband works full time, the arrangement means their household income is just above the federal poverty line — too high to qualify for Florida’s Medicaid program but low enough to make Muralles and her husband eligible for subsidized health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, also known as Obamacare.

Next year, Muralles said, she and her husband may not be able to afford that health insurance coverage, which has paid for her prescription blood thinners, cholesterol medication, and two surgeries, including one to treat a genetic disorder.

Extra subsidies put in place during the pandemic — which reduced the premiums Muralles and her husband paid by more than half, to $30 a month — are in place only through Dec. 31. Without enhanced subsidies, Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would rise by more than 75% on average, with bills for people in some states more than doubling, according to estimates from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Florida and Texas would be hit especially hard, as they have more people enrolled in the marketplace than other states. Some of their congressional districts alone, especially in South Florida, have more people signed up for Obamacare than entire states.

Like many of the more than 24 million Americans enrolled in the insurance marketplace this year, Muralles was unaware that the enhanced subsidies are slated to expire. She said she cannot afford a premium hike because inflation has already eaten into her household’s budget.

“The rent is going up,” she said. “The water bill is going up.”

Low-income enrollees like the Muralles couple would see the biggest percentage increases in premiums if enhanced subsidies expire.

Middle-income enrollees who earn more than four times the federal poverty line would no longer be eligible for subsidies at all. Those middle-income enrollees (who earn at least $62,600 for a single person in 2025) are disproportionately older, self-employed, and living in rural areas.

Julio Fuentes, president of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said many of his organization’s members are small business owners who rely on Obamacare for health coverage.

“It’s either this or nothing,” he said.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that letting the enhanced subsidies expire would, by 2034, increase the number of people without health insurance by 4.2 million. In tandem with changes to Medicaid in the House of Representatives’ reconciliation bill and the Trump administration’s proposed rules for the marketplace, including toughening income verification and shortening enrollment periods, it would increase the number of uninsured people by 16 million over that time period.

A study by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found that Hispanic and Black people would see greater coverage losses than other groups if the extra subsidies lapse.

Fuentes noted that about 5 million Hispanics are enrolled in the ACA marketplace, and that Donald Trump won the Hispanic vote in Florida in 2024. He hopes the president and congressional Republicans see extending the enhanced subsidies as a way to hold on to those voters.

“This is probably a good way, or a good start, to possibly grow that base even more,” he said.

Enrollment in the marketplace has grown faster since 2020 in the states won by Trump in 2024. A recent KFF survey found that 45% of Americans who buy their own health insurance identify as or lean Republican, including 3 in 10 who identify as Make America Great Again supporters. Smaller shares identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents (35%) or do not lean toward either party (20%).

Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said the rules proposed by the Trump administration, combined with the provisions in the House-passed budget bill, would “strengthen the ACA marketplace.” He noted that the CBO projects the legislation would reduce premiums for some plans about 12% on average by 2034 — but out-of-pocket costs would rise or remain the same for most subsidized ACA consumers.

“Democrats know Americans broadly support ending waste, fraud, and abuse, as The One, Big, Beautiful Bill does, which is why they are desperately trying to change the conversation,” Desai said.

But Lauren Aronson, executive director of Keep Americans Covered, a group in Washington, D.C., representing health insurers, hospitals, physicians, and patient advocates, said it is critical to raise awareness about the likely impact of losing the enhanced subsidies, which are also known as advanced premium tax credits. She is encouraged that Democrats have proposed legislation to extend the enhanced tax credits, and that some Republican senators have voiced support.

What worries Aronson most is that the Republican-controlled Congress is more focused on extending tax cuts than enhanced subsidies, she said. The current bill extending the 2017 tax cuts would increase the federal deficit by about $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to the CBO, while making the enhanced subsidies permanent would increase the deficit by $358 billion over roughly the same period.

“Congress is moving forward on a tax reconciliation package that purports to benefit working families,” Aronson said. “But if you don’t take care of the tax credits, working families will be left holding the bag.”

Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute, a conservative health policy think tank, said the enhanced subsidies were supposed to be a temporary measure during the covid-19 pandemic to help people at risk of losing coverage.

Instead, he said, the enhanced subsidies facilitated fraud because enrollees did not need to verify their income eligibility to receive zero-premium plans if they reported incomes at or near the federal poverty level.

The enhanced subsidies also worsen health inflation, discourage employers from offering health insurance benefits, and crowd out alternative models, such as short-term insurance and Farm Bureau plans, Blase said.

“Permitting these subsidies to expire would just be going back to Obamacare as it was written,” Blase said. “That is a more efficient program than the program that we have now.”

New rules for the marketplace proposed by the Trump administration in March are already designed to address fraud, said Anna Howard, a policy expert with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, which advocates for increased health insurance coverage. Howard said extending the enhanced tax credits would help ensure that people who are legitimately eligible for coverage can get it.

“We don’t want to see over 5 million people be kicked off their health insurance coverage out of fears of fraud when the policies being proposed don’t necessarily address fraud,” she said.

Without affordable premiums, many consumers will turn to short-term health plans, health care cost-sharing ministries, and other forms of coverage that do not have the benefits or protections of the health law, she said.

“These are plans that don’t provide coverage for prescription drugs, or they have lifetime and annual limits,” she said. “For a cancer patient, those plans don’t work.”

Though the enhanced subsidies do not expire until the end of the year, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association would prefer Congress to act by fall to avoid confusion during open enrollment, said David Merritt, a senior vice president. Insurers are preparing rates to meet state deadlines. By October, consumers will receive 60-day plan renewal notices with their 2026 premiums.

Without enhanced subsidies, Merritt said, competition in the marketplace will wither, leading to fewer coverage options and higher prices, especially in states that have not expanded Medicaid eligibility and where Obamacare enrollment spiked during the past four years, like Florida and Texas. “Voters and patients are really going to see the impact,” he said.

Republican and Democratic representatives for some of the Florida congressional districts with the highest numbers of people in the marketplace did not respond to repeated interview requests.

Muralles, of North Miami, Florida, said she wants her representatives to work in the interest of constituents like herself, who need health insurance coverage to care for their families.

“Now is the time to prove to us that they are with us,” Muralles said. “When everybody’s healthy, everybody goes to work, everybody can pay taxes, everybody can have a better life.”

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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed what’s officially called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and while it’s likely to be sliced and diced to some extent by the Senate and sent back to the House, as written it includes several provisions that would directly impact those owning or looking to buy a car, truck or SUV.

Here’s a quick look at the key measures:

1. Auto Financing Interest Becomes Deductible

As written, the bill would allow qualifying car buyers to claim a tax deduction of up to $10,000 for interest paid on a new-vehicle loan. The deduction would extend from 2025 to 2028 and be subject to certain restrictions. For starters, it would only apply to vehicles that are assembled in the U.S., and not include leases and interest paid on commercial vehicles. Eligibility to take the deduction would phase out for individuals earning more than $100,000, or $200,000 for couples filing jointly. On the plus side, a taxpayer wouldn’t have to itemize to be able to claim the deduction.

According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new vehicle stands at around $48,000, with car loan rates at an average of 8.64%. Cox Automotive predicts that if a given owner pays $2,000 per year in car loan interest, he or she would save around $400 in taxes, or $2,000 over the course of a five year loan. At the least the new deduction would help to offset the inevitable price hikes likely to be caused by Trump’s assorted import tariffs (see below).

2. Say Goodbye To Electric Car Credits

It’s well known that President Trump is no fan of electric vehicles, despite his extended bromance with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and the budget bill reflects that attitude. As expected it eliminates the one-time tax deduction/rebate of up to $7,500 that was enacted on President Obama’s watch and later modified by President Biden.

As it now stands, the credit can only be claimed by income-qualifying buyers on a relative handful of EVs that meet certain requirements for domestic production and are priced under $50,000 for passenger cars and $80,000 for trucks, vans and SUVs. (Some automakers have managed to exploit a loophole in the legislation that passes all or part of the incentive to those who lease an EV that otherwise doesn’t qualify for the credit.) The provision would also eliminate the tax credit of up to $4,000 or 30 percent of a used EV’s sale price as well.

While the credits wouldn’t be completely eliminated until December 31, 2026, they would expire at the end of 2025 for automakers who have sold more than 200,000 qualifying EVs. That includes virtually all the major players in the electric vehicle market, but favors newcomers like Lucid and Rivian. The bottom line here is those considering a battery-electric car, truck or SUV should act sooner rather than later to be able to claim this lucrative incentive.

3. New Fees For Electrified Rides

The bill as written would also impose a new federally imposed annual registration fee of $250 for EV owners and $100 for those driving gas/electric hybrids. Assumedly this is to help make up for gas tax money not collected from those driving full electric or lessened among owners of higher-mileage gas/electric models. The bill places the responsibility for assessing the fee on individual states and would penalize those that do not comply. As it stands, some states like California and Washington already charge EV owners an additional annual registration fee, with the federal charge likely to be added on top of the above amounts.

4. Temporary Consumer Protection Rollback

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would essentially prohibit the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing what’s called the Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule. Known as the CARS Rule, it requires car dealers to provide full pricing disclosure and obtain a buyer’s explicit consent to purchase add-ons like service contracts, rustproofing and the like. However, the restriction would reportedly only be in effect until September 30, so it’s not exactly a complete cancellation.

Did We Mention Tariffs?

And while not a part of the budget bill, new-vehicle buyers are almost certain to pay more in the months to come from federal tariffs on vehicles and components imported from other countries. This includes the large percentage of domestic-branded cars and trucks assembled in Canada and Mexico, and the multitude of parts sourced from China, not to mention a whopping 50% just announced on imported steel. However, since Trump’s tariffs are currently undergoing legal challenges and seem to be subject to whichever way the political wind blows, it’s not exactly clear how much sticker prices will be affected when and if the dust settles. Sources predict hikes as high as $5,000 to $10,000 on imported vehicles and $2,000-$3,000 on those produced domestically.

Of course, everything in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act remains subject to revision until Trump signs a final version into law, so stay tuned.

Mumbai: After almost a decade, BMC increased property tax rates by up to 15% in bills raised for over 9 lakh properties for 2025-26. The bills were raised this month, reports Richa Pinto.

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“There is a maximum 15% increase, but it could be less depending on the ready reckoner rate of that locality,” said an official. RR rates determine property valuations for stamp duty and taxation. A civic official said the recent rise in RR rates was factored in while increasing the tax.

However, around 3.6 lakh residential properties properties which measure under 500 sq ft (carpet area) remain exempted from property tax, as per a 2017 state directive.

With BMC increasing property tax rates by up to 15%, a residential unit with a tax of Rs 10,000 will now have to pay Rs 11,500. Residents, however, argue that the hike is significantly higher in certain areas than the 15% figure claimed by BMC. A flat owner in Andheri West, who was billed 29,211 last year, has received a bill of 36,898 for 2025-26, an increase of nearly 26%.

Similarly, a Bandra West resident said his property tax bill has jumped from around 1.10 lakh last year to 1.36 lakh this year, marking a 23% rise.

The last hike in property taxes occurred in 2015-16. BMC was supposed to revise rates in 2020, as per the norm of a review every five years. However, due to the pandemic, the decision was stalled. Subsequent political developments in the state put the move on the backburner. In 2024, the corporation stated that 2025 would mark the completion of a full five-year cycle, making it a more appropriate time to revise rates.

With govt increasing ready reckoner rates in March 2025 by an average 3.39%, thus impacting property valuations, the hike in taxes was seen coming soon.

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However, BMC has not revised its property tax collection target of 5,200 crore for 2025-26, despite the hike in rates, officials said. Impact of the increase is yet to be assessed, they said.

Former Bandra West corporator Asif Zakaria said the hike was “alarming,”, especially coming at a time when BMC has been functioning without elected representatives for the past three years. Zakaria said implementation of a new system based on the capital value of the property has still not been resolved for assessing property tax.

“This is an issue that continues to burden Mumbaikars unjustly despite multiple clear directives from the courts. No corrective action has been taken, to amend new rules 20, 21, 22 as directed by the Supreme Court and High Court. This correction itself is expected to reduce property tax bills by 40% for 2010 onwards till 2024–25,” he said.

Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad accused the BJP-led state govt of inflicting another financial blow on Mumbaikars – “a brutal 13-20% hike in property tax, in clear violation of Supreme Court directives.” “Without revising the Capital Value rules – as ordered by the SC—and without reassessing taxpayers, the state-controlled BMC has started processing new property tax bills…,” she added.