Even though Ossian Riday knew it was going to be financially painful to purchase an Affordable Care Act plan for 2026, he said it’s still difficult to pay so much for such sparse health coverage.

“We’re paying a fortune for essentially nothing,” Riday, 54, of Topsham, said about the catastrophic ACA plan he purchased with $1,250 monthly premiums, and more than $20,000 in deductibles to cover two people.

Riday is one of thousands of Maine residents who will see their ACA premiums spike, in large part due to the expiration of Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. Congress failed to extend the credits after a series of votes in the Senate on Thursday.

About 65,000 people in Maine have ACA insurance, and most will experience sharp increases — an average of 77% — with the credits going away.

Enrollment continues through Monday at coverme.gov for coverage that starts on Jan. 1. For coverage that begins Feb. 1, the deadline is Jan. 15.

Ann Woloson, executive director of the Maine-based Consumers for Affordable Health Care, an advocacy group that helps people purchase ACA plans, encouraged people to shop for plans, because some of the tax credits to help pay for premiums are not ending. Advanced Premium Tax Credits, for example, were approved when the law passed in 2009 and have no expiration date.

The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits were first approved in 2021 as part of a coronavirus relief package, and were extended to the end of this year.

“It’s disappointing that Congress didn’t vote to extend the credits, but I would encourage people to shop on coverme.gov and look at their options. There may still be a plan that works for you,” Woloson said.

Riday, a self-employed software developer, is currently paying about $675 monthly for a three-person household. Despite their adult daughter dropping off their family’s health insurance so she can purchase her own ACA plan, and shifting to a catastrophic plan with high deductibles, their monthly premiums will nearly double.

To purchase the ACA’s catastrophic plan — which is available but harder to sign up for — Riday said he had to spend several hours on the phone and fill out extra paperwork.

Riday is part of a group that will be hit hardest by the expiration of the tax credits: those in their 50s and 60s who earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level, or $85,600 for a two-person household. These are usually self-employed workers or small-business owners, and the only tax credits that were available to that group were the enhanced credits that are expiring.

“I feel like we need universal health care in this country,” Riday said. “We’re all beholden to the insurance companies, that’s the bottom line.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, both voted to extend the subsidies for three years, a proposal put forward by Democratic leadership. Collins also voted in favor of a Republican plan — that also failed on Thursday — that would not have extended the subsidies but instead would have funded up to $1,500 in health savings accounts for people purchasing ACA plans. Those funds, however, could not be used to pay for premiums. King voted no on the Republican plan.

Prospects are dim for Congress to extend the credits by the end of 2025, but Collins and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, have proposed compromise plans that would extend the credits but place an income cap on eligibility. Neither of the proposals has yet been promised a floor vote in the House or Senate.