When the clock struck midnight on May 31, more than low-income households were dropped from a federal internet subsidy program that for years had helped them get connected. Health Brief is a coproduction of The Washington Post and KFF Health News. The was created in 2021, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, to help people plug into jobs, schools and health care by reducing their internet costs by up a month.
Helping connect households was particularly important in rural America, where telehealth services are often leaned on to fill health care gaps and address provider shortages. But that aid evaporated last month when didn’t move to keep it funded. “Internet bills for millions of Americans are increasing because Congressional Republicans failed to act,” emailed me.
Some lawmakers have argued that too much of the subsidy money went to people who don’t need it. Last month, and introduced proposals to address those concerns. The ACP debate continues, with a funding measure expected to be part of the , under consideration Wednesday by the .
The day before the subsidies expired, White House officials offered a consolation prize, announcing they had worked out a deal with 15 internet providers that agreed to keep offering low-cost plans. The announcement isn’t really new, though, nor as robust as a previous deal. In 2022, the announced that 20 companies would offer plans for or less.
, and are among the players continuing to sell low-cost plans the administration says.
