Jamie (left) and Carrie Wright live in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and are using federal tax credits to cover Jamie’s cancer treatment costs. These grants will expire at the end of the year. (Photo courtesy of Carrie Wright)
Jamie and Carrie Wright come up with the numbers with ease.
A single dose of Jamie’s cancer drug, which he needs every 28 days, costs $36,000. The Patient Assistance Program will cover the $1,400 amount, but that means it doesn’t count toward the $15,000 out-of-pocket cost. Carrie also didn’t need $1,167 to cover expenses before her nerve ablation last month.
Then there’s Jamie’s tests every six months and thyroid medication…
The Wrights cover the above costs with Ipsencares (which covers the shot fee) and credit cards. But there’s one number they haven’t matched: $1,792. That’s their projected monthly insurance premium in 2026 if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced marketplace tax credits.
That’s 265% more than their electricity• $490 monthly premium, which is significantly reduced thanks to federal tax credits.
“We’re lucky,” Carrie said, noting that they have adult children. “We only have two to support, not a family. But $1,792 will mean some significant changes… not only to our lifestyle, but also to other needs.”
The Wrights, who live in Allegheny County, are just two of them approximately 500,000 Pennsylvanians who take advantage of insurance plans sold through Pennie, the state’s marketplace for affordable health care services. Tax credits used to reduce the cost of premiums expire at the end of the year and costs are expected statewide, more than double on average, if Congress cannot decide on a path forward.
“We know that these grants truly make health insurance affordable for cancer patients and their families,” said Donna Greco, director of government relations for the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Cancer Society.
“It’s truly a matter of life and death when we know how important it is to have health insurance to prevent, detect, treat and survive cancer,” she added.
While several plans have been announced, none are expected to cross the finish line in Congress.
“It’s not about political affiliation because that doesn’t matter. It hurts people all over the world,” Jamie said. “It doesn’t matter who has the plan, but they have to fix it now… extend the deadline, do whatever you have to do. Fix the problem now, then come up with a plan.”
#Catsandkids in McKeesport
The McKeesport couple earned about $81,000 last year and are not eligible for insurance through their jobs. Carrie, 54, works for a local ophthalmologist and Jamie, 60, installs trim for a window and door company.
Although he tries to work full time, Jamie often cannot.
A tumor-suppressing injection every 28 days, in Carrie’s words, “eliminates it” and requires several days of recovery. One of the medications affects his blood pressure, which poses a risk if he becomes dizzy while working on the scaffolding.
But he maintains that he will work more hours “or whatever I have to do… to figure it out.”
“It’s not that his work ethic is bad,” Carrie said. “His ability to work is not the same.”
“I still do,” he replied.
“But that’s the thing – when he’s supposed to stay home and take care of himself, he can’t,” Carrie said.
“If I have to work more hours or do anything else, I will think about it… we have to survive.”
– Jamie Wright
In 2021, doctors diagnosed Jamie with neuroendocrine tumors, a type of slow-growing cancer that spreads throughout the body. At one point he had more than 80 tumors, but after individualized treatment in a 2023 clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health, he reduced that number by 50.
“One of the things about this particular cancer is that even though it grows slowly, it will change. It’s always in the body and you can’t get rid of it,” Jamie said. “When the number is higher, the risk of metastasis and jumping to another organ, bone or other site increases.”
Shortly after the clinical trial in 2023, when Jamie could no longer work full-time and funds had dried up, they learned about tax benefits through Pennie.
“This tax credit helped. Oh my God, it helped,” Carrie said.
Most ACA market users cannot afford the potential increases, according to the survey
Switching to a lower-quality or lower-premium plan wouldn’t meet their needs, the Wrights say, and could simply result in even higher deductibles or co-pays.
“We have pretty good care right now. With cancer and a lot of things that I have to go through, you have to be aware of what’s important. And that care is important,” Jamie said.
Carrie worried that other people would drop their insurance, which would raise prices for people like them who couldn’t afford to go without insurance.
“If these people drop their insurance, we can’t. Cancer says you have to have insurance. And if all these hundreds of thousands or millions of other people lose their insurance or drop it – what impact will that have on our premiums?” Carrie asked.
This is reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. 30,000 residents canceled their insurance before the year-end deadline.
She also wondered whether the cancer-suppressing shot produced in France would be subject to future tariffs and potentially be twice as costly.
However, whenever possible, the couple continues to spend time actively at home. Jamie built a cat house with heat lamps for the neighborhood cats – eight of them now live at the Wright house when the weather gets colder.
During the warmer months, they hand out ice cream to children in the community. These children brought them Simba, a cat whose “eyes were taped shut” from an infection, as Carrie documents. Facebook page and TikTok, where he raises funds for veterinary care for cats.
“I always joke that we hashtag cats and babies. Because we have all the homeless people in the area,” Carrie said.
But the Wrights admit their lives will change once the credits roll.
On the Hill
Two proposals in the US Senate failed to gather sufficient support Thursday: Democrats’ plan to extend tax breaks for three years – z An $83 billion escalate in the deficit over the next decade — and a Republican alternative that would provide up to $1,500 a year to some buyers and eliminate subsidies.
A vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is expected next week, but details remain elusive. The GOP’s narrow 220-213 majority means every lawmaker would have to support the measure, even before it moves to the Senate.
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The expected escalate in contributions may harm Republicans from swing districts, including Pennsylvania– as reported by AP.
Both Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, D-7th District Lehigh Valley, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, D-1st District Bucks County – who narrowly won their districts in 2024 – were part of bipartisan coalitions presenting alternative solutions, ephemeral extension of loans.
The ever-optimistic Wrights were using credit cards sparingly for now to cover their medical costs, but Carrie worried that they might face a “mountain of debt” in the future. The lawyers told them that disability would not be taken into account until Jamie had been working for at least six months.
“We’re going to figure this out,” Jamie said. “But I’ve talked to a lot of people… not only do they get punched in the face with cancer, but they also have to deal with this mess.”
“They should be concerned about how to get better, not how they will pay for it,” Carrie added.
