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22 million Americans just got a 114% healthcare premium increase overnight.
The enhanced ACA subsidies expired January 1, 2026, and Congress failed to act.
This isn’t just a policy failure, it’s a healthcare catastrophe unfolding in real time.
Here’s what’s happening:
📊 The average subsidized enrollee faces $1,016 more per year
📊 Some families see premiums jump 280%
📊 Benchmark premiums rising 4.3% this year, 7.7% next year
📊 Lower-income families hit hardest, losing their largest discounts
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz confirmed the federal government now covers just 80% of costs instead of the enhanced support millions depended on.
Think about this: A family making $60,000 could see their monthly premium jump from $200 to $560. That’s groceries, car payments, or rent money vanishing overnight.
The political theater is predictable. Trump calls Obamacare a “disaster.” Democrats blame Republicans. A discharge petition sits waiting for signatures.
Meanwhile, 22 million Americans are making impossible choices between healthcare and basic necessities.
For healthcare leaders, this means:
• Expect enrollment drops as people can’t afford coverage
• Prepare for increased uncompensated care
• Watch emergency departments become primary care again
• Brace for sicker patients delaying care due to cost
The irony? We’re spending billions on healthcare AI and innovation while millions lose basic access to care.
This isn’t about politics anymore. It’s about whether we believe healthcare is a right or a luxury.
When 22 million people lose affordable healthcare overnight, we all pay the price through higher premiums, overwhelmed ERs, and preventable deaths.
The House vote on extension is coming this month. But for millions of Americans, the damage is already being done.
♻️ Repost if healthcare affordability shouldn’t depend on political gridlock
👉 Follow me, Jonathan Govette, for real-time updates on healthcare technology and business news. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangovette/
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Author:
CEO/Co-Founder @ Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Screening | Almost Became a Doctor | Engineer | Follow to Share What I’ve Learned Along the Way
I help patients get the care they need earlier, preventing late-stage cancer.
That’s been the throughline across three companies and almost 20 years in healthcare. At ReferralMD, we fixed broken referral networks so patients didn’t fall through the cracks. At Oatmeal Health, it’s lung cancer: building the diagnostic and screening infrastructure so the 85% of cases caught too late get caught early instead.
Today as CEO of Oatmeal Health, I lead a team embedding AI into radiology workflows to turn routine lung CT scans into reimbursable cancer risk assessments. We partner with FQHCs to reach underserved communities, and with health systems and payers to make early detection economically sustainable. Think HeartFlow or Cleerly, but for lungs.
Between companies, I advised at Techstars and Plug and Play, mentoring founders building in digital health. That experience shaped how I think about what separates companies that ship from companies that stall: distribution, reimbursement, and clinical trust, not just technology.
I’m a CancerX alumnus, a 3x healthcare founder, and someone who believes the biggest problems in cancer aren’t scientific. They’re operational.
We’re hiring mission-driven builders at Oatmeal Health. If you want to work on something that matters, reach out.
When I’m not working, I’m traveling, mentoring, and keeping up with one very energetic husky. 🐾
Substack – The Oatmeal Bite:
Millions of patients get less care because of who they are, where they live, or how they look. I’m fighting to change that. CEO @OatmealHealth, a startup built for the underserved. The Oatmeal Bite: intel for clinicians, investors, and advocates.
Jonathan Govette
CEO of Oatmeal Health
Substack:
https://oatmealhealthjonathangovette.substack.com/
