November 25, 2025 • 10 mins
The Affordable Care Act’s tax credits have made dependable health coverage possible for millions of families, seniors, patients, and small business owners. But those vital subsidies are set to expire unless Congress acts in the coming weeks. Today is Katie Berge, Senior Director of Federal Affairs at Blood Cancer United — formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — the largest global nonprofit supporting blood cancer patients through research, patient services, and strong federal advocacy. Katie also works closely with Keep Americans Covered, a national coalition fighting to preserve the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits to ensure coverage remains affordable for millions. She’s here to break down what’s at stake, who will be affected, and why this moment is so critical.
🌐 Learn More:
Keep Americans Covered — www.americanscovered.org
Blood Cancer United — www.bloodcancerunited.org
📱 BloodCancerU on X | @BloodCancerUnited on Instagram & Facebook
🌐 Learn More:
Keep Americans Covered — www.americanscovered.org
Blood Cancer United — www.bloodcancerunited.org
📱 BloodCancerU on X | @BloodCancerUnited on Instagram & Facebook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Balladmorrow. This morning, we're going to devote time
with doctor Alicia Marshall, the newly appointed president of Community
College of Philadelphia. She'll talk about her vision of expanding access,
strengthening student success, and deepening the college's impact across the city.
(00:20):
But first, unless Congress acts, people covered under the Affordable
Care Act or Obamacare will see their costs skyrocket. The
Affordable Care Acts tax credits have helped millions of families, seniors, patients,
and small business owners afford dependable health coverage, but those
critical subsidies are set to expire unless Congress acts in
(00:42):
the coming weeks. Today we're joined by Katie Berg, Senior
Director of Federal Affairs at Blood Cancer United, formerly the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It's the largest global nonprofit dedicated
to supporting blood cancer patients, advancing research, and advocating for
policies that protect access to life saving care. Katie is
here to walk us through what's at stake, who will
(01:04):
be impacted in why the next few weeks are so crucial. Well,
Katie's before we get into the nuts and bolts of
the ACA Obamacare give us an overview of Blood Cancer
United's mission and why policy advocacy at the federal level
is so important to patients and families that you serve.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Great thank you, Lauren, it's a pleasure to be with
you today talking about Blood Cancer United and our mission.
At Blood Cancer United, we work to serve patients and
family members who are impacted by blood cancers. We want
to make sure that everybody has the ability to have
long and healthy lives, and do so by supporting policies
that include things like insurance. We know firsthand that there
(01:44):
is no such thing as the self pay cancer patient.
Treating a blood cancer or any cancer is incredibly extensive,
and doing so without insurance is a real challenge. And
so it's great to be here to talk to you
about this really important issue that's before us today.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Katie, you've been deeply involved in efforts to extend the
ACA tax credits. Help us understand how would failing to
extend these subsidies affect patients, parents, seniors, and even small
business owners.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
There are more than four hundred thousand people in Pennsylvania
enrolled in the ACA insurance marketplaces, and the tax credits
that we're talking about today support almost all of those
people having access to high quality, affordable care because they
help bring down their monthly premiums. For cancer patients and
for early retirees, small business owners, and entrepreneurs, the tax
(02:34):
credits help people maintain their independence. For example, many small
businesses look to the Affordable Care Act for their coverage,
and so do For example, I'm from Iowa. There are
many farm hands and farm owners in Iowa as well
as in Pennsylvania. They also are covered disproportionately by the
Affordable Care Act. You shouldn't have to have employer sponsored
(02:54):
coverage or a fancy job to afford your health insurance.
Everyone should afford health insurance because we never know when
we're going to be hit with the diagnosis like cancer.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, Congress is preparing to vote mid December, and the
White House is expected to release its own framework soon.
They have made some hints or indications that they might
extend those subsidies, but who knows. Walk us through the timeline.
Why are the next few weeks so critical?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Right? So I mentioned that all of these people rely
on the tax credits to help bring down the cost
of coverage, and it's really important right now, in particular
because we're in the middle of open enrollment, the period
of time each year where people go through and look
at the health insurance options that are available to them
and enroll next year. Honestly, we would have preferred this
conversation to have happened many many months ago, so that
(03:45):
our patients and Americans everywhere had certainty about how much
their health insurance was going to cost next year. However,
that insurance will be effectuated January first, and so that's
when people will start seeing and experiencing significant premium increase.
Is without congressional action. You mentioned that the President has
been forecasting that he'll have something to say about this issue,
(04:08):
and at Blood Cancer United, we welcome the opportunity to
engage with the President and with both parties in both
chambers of Congress. The urgency we're beyond urgent. We're in
a five alarm fire now. It is critical that in
the midst of open enrollment, where patients and consumers are
seeing huge premium spikes, we get there to reduce those
(04:29):
costs before patients walk away. We know that there's been
some estimates out there already that we'll see four million
people lose coverage the first year alone after the failure
to reauthorize these tax credits. Of those four million, one
point seven million will be people who are facing chronic
(04:50):
and serious illnesses. Those are the people who can least
afford it. And so we are grateful that Congress and
now potentially the President are focused on this issue because
cost of care matters, Kitchen table budgets mattered, and people
with serious and chronic conditions really can't afford to live
in this land of limbo.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Beyond the financial burden, what's at stake specifically for blood
cancer patients in terms of access to treatment, quality of life,
and long term outcomes.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, I said before, there is no such thing as
a self paid cancer patient. We know that in the
first year alone, treatments cost five hundred thousand dollars to
do one year of treatment for cancer, and so it's
really important that people have access to insurance. You're going
to hear me say that a lot today. One of
the things that we know is at stak for cancer
(05:41):
patients is fewer doctor's visits, fewer hours with their loved ones,
fewer chemotherapy treatments, fewer cured of treatments to help them
live as long and as healthy as they possibly can.
And so what's at stak for cancer patients? Well, everything's
at steak for cancer patients, including their lives.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
A little bit of a pivot, but it's certainly connected
with our conversation, and that is the news story recently
that Tatiana Schlosberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy
and the daughter of Carolyn Kennedy, says the healthcare system
on which she had come to rely on felt strained
and shaky. She has said that she has a terminal
(06:22):
form of blood cancer. I wonder if you can react
to her recent statement and her concerns about the state
of health insurance, particularly as it relates to her situation
and the situation for so many other patients living with
the blood cancers.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, it's such sad news to hear that she is
looking down of no treatments and winding down the rest
of her time with her family. And that is news
that we don't think anybody should have to face. She
has two young children, she has everything going for her.
That said, her experience is not unique, and so it
was really we thought it was really helpful for her
(07:02):
to kind of shed light on the challenges that patients,
even people who come from incredible privilege, have navigating our
health insurance and our health care system. There are curative
treatments out there for many patients, and we have seen
lifespans go from a matter of months in blood cancer
to long term. You take a pill every day to
(07:24):
manage your disease and you can live a long and
healthy life. And so making sure that her message that
the complexity of our system, the complexity of the costs
associated with these treatments, in addition to the challenges that
now face adequate funding for research that support curative treatments
long term are heard. Is very much appreciated, despite the
(07:47):
fact that it comes from an incredible place of pain.
So it was both heartbreaking and heartfelt for us to
have her lift her voice in this way.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, with open enrollment currently underway, what message do you
want makers and the public to hear about the urgency
of extending these ACA text credits?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Now you use the operative words. Now. Congress must act, now,
the President must act now to intervene on behalf of
patients and consumers. These are working families, they have small businesses,
They are contributing to their community, and the longer we wait,
the more people who will walk away from their insurance
(08:25):
coverage because they can't afford it. We are in a
time of incredible financial need right now. Costs are going
up across the board. The one thing that we know
categorically is that everybody will get sick at some point,
but you don't know when, and that's why health insurance
is so important. So the operative message for us is
(08:46):
act now, and so we would urge your listeners to
reach out to their members of Congress to convey the
urgency and their expectations that they do something and they
do something fast. The one caveat I would offer here
is that do doing something should not be at the
expense of patients and consumers who need adequate, high quality insurance.
(09:08):
There's lots of insurance that's out there in the market
right now that doesn't cover cancer treatments, that can use
discriminatory plan design, that can go back to the days
of old before the ACA, and we can't go back there.
We have to move forward. And so one of the
places where your listeners can find additional resources is Americanscovered
dot org. You'll see there are more information about this issue.
(09:29):
But also a take action page where you can reach
out to your member of Congress and resources to do so.
We hope they will well.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
We hope they do too, and I want to thank
you so much for joining us. Katie Berg, Senior Director
of Federal Affairs at Blood Cancer United, formerly known as
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Also a quick shout out
for those out there to please register as a bone
marrow potential donor. I am on that registry and we
need more people to sign up for that. So Katie,
(09:57):
thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
My pleasure. Thank you for that shout out.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
We'll have more insight after these messages
Good morning, Welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Balladmorrow. This morning, we're going to devote time
with doctor Alicia Marshall, the newly appointed president of Community
College of Philadelphia. She'll talk about her vision of expanding access,
strengthening student success, and deepening the college's impact across the city.
(00:20):
But first, unless Congress acts, people covered under the Affordable
Care Act or Obamacare will see their costs skyrocket. The
Affordable Care Acts tax credits have helped millions of families, seniors, patients,
and small business owners afford dependable health coverage, but those
critical subsidies are set to expire unless Congress acts in
(00:42):
the coming weeks. Today we're joined by Katie Berg, Senior
Director of Federal Affairs at Blood Cancer United, formerly the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It's the largest global nonprofit dedicated
to supporting blood cancer patients, advancing research, and advocating for
policies that protect access to life saving care. Katie is
here to walk us through what's at stake, who will
(01:04):
be impacted in why the next few weeks are so crucial. Well,
Katie's before we get into the nuts and bolts of
the ACA Obamacare give us an overview of Blood Cancer
United's mission and why policy advocacy at the federal level
is so important to patients and families that you serve.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Great thank you, Lauren, it's a pleasure to be with
you today talking about Blood Cancer United and our mission.
At Blood Cancer United, we work to serve patients and
family members who are impacted by blood cancers. We want
to make sure that everybody has the ability to have
long and healthy lives, and do so by supporting policies
that include things like insurance. We know firsthand that there
(01:44):
is no such thing as the self pay cancer patient.
Treating a blood cancer or any cancer is incredibly extensive,
and doing so without insurance is a real challenge. And
so it's great to be here to talk to you
about this really important issue that's before us today.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Katie, you've been deeply involved in efforts to extend the
ACA tax credits. Help us understand how would failing to
extend these subsidies affect patients, parents, seniors, and even small
business owners.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
There are more than four hundred thousand people in Pennsylvania
enrolled in the ACA insurance marketplaces, and the tax credits
that we're talking about today support almost all of those
people having access to high quality, affordable care because they
help bring down their monthly premiums. For cancer patients and
for early retirees, small business owners, and entrepreneurs, the tax
(02:34):
credits help people maintain their independence. For example, many small
businesses look to the Affordable Care Act for their coverage,
and so do For example, I'm from Iowa. There are
many farm hands and farm owners in Iowa as well
as in Pennsylvania. They also are covered disproportionately by the
Affordable Care Act. You shouldn't have to have employer sponsored
(02:54):
coverage or a fancy job to afford your health insurance.
Everyone should afford health insurance because we never know when
we're going to be hit with the diagnosis like cancer.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, Congress is preparing to vote mid December, and the
White House is expected to release its own framework soon.
They have made some hints or indications that they might
extend those subsidies, but who knows. Walk us through the timeline.
Why are the next few weeks so critical?
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Right? So I mentioned that all of these people rely
on the tax credits to help bring down the cost
of coverage, and it's really important right now, in particular
because we're in the middle of open enrollment, the period
of time each year where people go through and look
at the health insurance options that are available to them
and enroll next year. Honestly, we would have preferred this
conversation to have happened many many months ago, so that
(03:45):
our patients and Americans everywhere had certainty about how much
their health insurance was going to cost next year. However,
that insurance will be effectuated January first, and so that's
when people will start seeing and experiencing significant premium increase.
Is without congressional action. You mentioned that the President has
been forecasting that he'll have something to say about this issue,
(04:08):
and at Blood Cancer United, we welcome the opportunity to
engage with the President and with both parties in both
chambers of Congress. The urgency we're beyond urgent. We're in
a five alarm fire now. It is critical that in
the midst of open enrollment, where patients and consumers are
seeing huge premium spikes, we get there to reduce those
(04:29):
costs before patients walk away. We know that there's been
some estimates out there already that we'll see four million
people lose coverage the first year alone after the failure
to reauthorize these tax credits. Of those four million, one
point seven million will be people who are facing chronic
(04:50):
and serious illnesses. Those are the people who can least
afford it. And so we are grateful that Congress and
now potentially the President are focused on this issue because
cost of care matters, Kitchen table budgets mattered, and people
with serious and chronic conditions really can't afford to live
in this land of limbo.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Beyond the financial burden, what's at stake specifically for blood
cancer patients in terms of access to treatment, quality of life,
and long term outcomes.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, I said before, there is no such thing as
a self paid cancer patient. We know that in the
first year alone, treatments cost five hundred thousand dollars to
do one year of treatment for cancer, and so it's
really important that people have access to insurance. You're going
to hear me say that a lot today. One of
the things that we know is at stak for cancer
(05:41):
patients is fewer doctor's visits, fewer hours with their loved ones,
fewer chemotherapy treatments, fewer cured of treatments to help them
live as long and as healthy as they possibly can.
And so what's at stak for cancer patients? Well, everything's
at steak for cancer patients, including their lives.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
A little bit of a pivot, but it's certainly connected
with our conversation, and that is the news story recently
that Tatiana Schlosberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy
and the daughter of Carolyn Kennedy, says the healthcare system
on which she had come to rely on felt strained
and shaky. She has said that she has a terminal
(06:22):
form of blood cancer. I wonder if you can react
to her recent statement and her concerns about the state
of health insurance, particularly as it relates to her situation
and the situation for so many other patients living with
the blood cancers.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, it's such sad news to hear that she is
looking down of no treatments and winding down the rest
of her time with her family. And that is news
that we don't think anybody should have to face. She
has two young children, she has everything going for her.
That said, her experience is not unique, and so it
was really we thought it was really helpful for her
(07:02):
to kind of shed light on the challenges that patients,
even people who come from incredible privilege, have navigating our
health insurance and our health care system. There are curative
treatments out there for many patients, and we have seen
lifespans go from a matter of months in blood cancer
to long term. You take a pill every day to
(07:24):
manage your disease and you can live a long and
healthy life. And so making sure that her message that
the complexity of our system, the complexity of the costs
associated with these treatments, in addition to the challenges that
now face adequate funding for research that support curative treatments
long term are heard. Is very much appreciated, despite the
(07:47):
fact that it comes from an incredible place of pain.
So it was both heartbreaking and heartfelt for us to
have her lift her voice in this way.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, with open enrollment currently underway, what message do you
want makers and the public to hear about the urgency
of extending these ACA text credits?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Now you use the operative words. Now. Congress must act, now,
the President must act now to intervene on behalf of
patients and consumers. These are working families, they have small businesses,
They are contributing to their community, and the longer we wait,
the more people who will walk away from their insurance
(08:25):
coverage because they can't afford it. We are in a
time of incredible financial need right now. Costs are going
up across the board. The one thing that we know
categorically is that everybody will get sick at some point,
but you don't know when, and that's why health insurance
is so important. So the operative message for us is
(08:46):
act now, and so we would urge your listeners to
reach out to their members of Congress to convey the
urgency and their expectations that they do something and they
do something fast. The one caveat I would offer here
is that do doing something should not be at the
expense of patients and consumers who need adequate, high quality insurance.
(09:08):
There's lots of insurance that's out there in the market
right now that doesn't cover cancer treatments, that can use
discriminatory plan design, that can go back to the days
of old before the ACA, and we can't go back there.
We have to move forward. And so one of the
places where your listeners can find additional resources is Americanscovered
dot org. You'll see there are more information about this issue.
(09:29):
But also a take action page where you can reach
out to your member of Congress and resources to do so.
We hope they will well.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
We hope they do too, and I want to thank
you so much for joining us. Katie Berg, Senior Director
of Federal Affairs at Blood Cancer United, formerly known as
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Also a quick shout out
for those out there to please register as a bone
marrow potential donor. I am on that registry and we
need more people to sign up for that. So Katie,
(09:57):
thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
My pleasure. Thank you for that shout out.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
We'll have more insight after these messages
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.