Governor Healy urged federal lawmakers to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits this week, saying failure to act would put thousands of Massachusetts residents at risk of losing affordable coverage.

"All they need to do is just take a vote and extend these credits," Healy said at a state press briefing, pointing to a Senate vote she said was scheduled "this Thursday." She blamed President Trump and congressional Republicans for recent federal changes she said have cut funding and driven up costs, and said those actions have immediate local impact.

Healy said the changes amount to "$1,000,000,000,000" in health-care cuts and warned some households could face far higher premiums, saying people could see premiums "double, triple" and that "some families are gonna find themselves paying as much as $25,000 a year for health care coverage." Those figures were presented as examples and reported by Healy as estimates of potential impacts.

Audrey Morse Gasteyer, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, outlined state resources and the timeline for enrollment: "December 23 is the last day that residents can enroll in a plan to start January 1," she said, and she urged residents to use the Connector's "get an estimate" tool at mahealthconnector.org and call the Connector's navigator locations and customer service lines for help.

Gasteyer told reporters the Connector has already seen a rise in early terminations during the current open-enrollment period: "just in the first month of open enrollment, we've seen over 10,000 people terminate their coverage for 2026," she said, adding that was about double the early-termination count at the same point last year. She said those figures are a signal of concern but declined to provide a single projection for total losses, noting enrollment flows vary.

Healy said the state has taken steps to limit cost exposure — including earlier caps on deductibles and copays — and has set up a dedicated portal and phone support to help residents explore options. She said she had directed the Health Connector director to testify in Washington about the on-the-ground impacts.

The governor framed immediate federal action as the most direct remedy: "Do your job, fix this, and protect people," she said, urging residents to press lawmakers to extend the credits ahead of the scheduled vote.

The administration encouraged eligible residents to visit mahealthconnector.org/backslashupdates and to contact navigators or the Connector's customer-service number for enrollment assistance before Dec. 23.