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John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he’s waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare.

He was already thinking about delaying it — then his monthly Obamacare insurance premium payment tripled this year to $2,460, about a third of his income, he said. And with a $2,700 deductible, he’d be on the hook for most of the diagnostic exam, a financial hit he said he couldn’t stomach.

“It was going to cost close to $3,000,” said Galvin, who lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and recently retired as director of a durable medical equipment company. “I put it off.”

Galvin said his wife, Nancy, is delaying a costly CT scan for a few years until she too qualifies for Medicare, so it can foot the bill. The federal health program offers coverage for all Americans 65 and older.

People on Affordable Care Act plans nearing retirement age experienced some of the largest price increases following the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies at the end of December. Those with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level — $86,560 for a family of two — had been getting help paying for the plans since the Biden administration expanded the subsidies during the covid-19 pandemic. Adults ages 50 through 64 made up around half of those ACA enrollees.

The Political Blowback to GOP’s Medicaid Cuts Has Already Begun

Now, without that federal financial help, some in this age group say they’re wrestling with whether to delay care until they qualify for Medicare. Not only does that put their physical health at risk, said patient advocates, doctors, and health policy researchers, but it potentially just shifts the costs — and could lead to taxpayers’ footing even bigger bills to fix health issues that worsen amid the delays.

“There’s going to be a lot of pent-up demand and unmet need,” said Jessica Schubel, a health policy consultant who worked in the Obama and Biden administrations. “Medicare is going to have to spend a whole heck of a lot of money covering and dealing with their........

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