Maryland officials vowed to help residents afford and keep their health insurance despite the federal government’s failure to renew federal health care tax credits.
During a visit to the Silver Spring office of Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services, Gov. Wes Moore said that Maryland prepared for the possibility that the federal government would not extend health care tax credits. Therefore, last year, the General Assembly voted to expand Maryland’s State-Based Insurance Subsidies Program to help lower premiums for those who purchase health insurance through Maryland Health Connection.
The Health Connection is for residents who make less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The Maryland Health Connection released the 2026 version of its “Get an Estimate” tool Friday, enabling residents to see how they can lower their health care costs.
“There is no state in the country that can fill the gap when the federal government abandons its citizens. But in Maryland, we will continue to stand in the gap, fight for our families, and bring costs down,” Moore said.
The federal shutdown “is going to hurt all of us,” not just the 190,000 residents who rely on federal tax credits to make their health care more affordable. He estimated that the average person who relies on the federal tax credits would be charged an additional $825 a year for their health care premiums.
As a result, Moore said, many people will drop health care coverage altogether, costing hospitals great sums and leaving people without medical prevention and care. A decision not to extend the federal tax credits comes at a time when Medicaid is cutting back, he added.
Council President Kate Stewart thanked Moore for coming to Montgomery County “and to stand united against the awful, cruel and hateful agenda of the Trump Administration and to stand with us against the reckless Republican shutdown which threatens the lives and livelihoods of our residents.”
“We’ve reached a pivotal point in our country’s core responsibility to take care of the safety, health and well-being of its people,” said U.S. Rep. April McLain Delaney of Maryland’s 6th District. “Our federal delegation did not want a shutdown, and we worked hard to avert it,” she said.
According to Gov. Moore, 2026 Affordable Care Act health insurance premium rates will increase by an average of 13.4 percent if the tax credit is not extended. That federal credit was established under the Biden administration.
Almost 250,000 state residents are enrolled in Maryland’s health connection marketplace.
The federal government is the largest employer in Maryland. Prior to this year’s federal workforce cuts, 269,000 Maryland residents were employed by the federal government, and more than 160,000 federal civilian jobs were located in the state.
Since the Trump Administration has taken office, Maryland has lost more than 15,000 federal jobs—the largest number in the nation, according to Moore.
