David Lejeune, president of America’s HealthShare (AHS), said California’s growing dependence on federal subsidies is exposing structural weaknesses in the Affordable Care Act, pointing to recent warnings from state officials that premiums could spike if enhanced federal support expires.
“No state has worked harder than California to convince the rest of the country that Obama’s Affordable Care Act was a success, and no state is proving more quickly that it was a myth,” Lejeune wrote in a column on Townhall.
Lejeune said that the law’s viability relies heavily on continued federal intervention rather than sustainable market forces.
California officials have warned that if Congress allows enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to expire, average premiums for marketplace plans could increase by nearly 100 percent, potentially forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to drop coverage, wrote Lejeune.
Covered California, the nation’s largest state-run ACA exchange, has said as many as 400,000 enrollees could become uninsured if subsidy levels are reduced.
Lejeune said rising costs and shrinking options are not limited to California, noting that families across the country are seeking alternatives as traditional insurance models become less affordable.
In a recent interview with the North OC Times, Lejeune said Orange County families are “trapped in a healthcare system that costs more and cares less,” as premiums continue to rise while provider choice narrows.
AHS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) healthcare sharing ministry that allows members to share one another’s eligible medical expenses rather than pay premiums into a traditional insurance pool. The organization supports the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, a framework popularized nationally by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, who has called for returning healthcare decision-making to patients and local communities. Kennedy’s MAHA platform emphasizes transparency, personal choice, and preventive care in a system many view as overly costly and centralized.
AHS’ program includes upfront price transparency, eliminating surprise billing and helping members compare costs before receiving care. Eligible shared services include hospitalization, inpatient and outpatient surgeries, maternity care, emergency room visits, chiropractic and physiotherapy, telehealth, mental health counseling, and naturopathic and integrative medicine.
Members also have access to advanced treatment categories such as precision cancer therapies, peptides, regenerative medicine, and coverage for vaccine-related injury care, a benefit uncommon among traditional plans. Preventive services include annual wellness exams, screening labs, nutritional counseling, fertility-awareness education, and unlimited virtual care depending on program tier.
Membership starts at $68 per month for individuals, $136 for couples, and $276 for families, significantly below the cost of many private insurance premiums. The organization offers multiple program levels with Annual Unshared Amounts ranging from $3,000 to $12,000, and eligible medical needs sharable up to $1 million per incident.
AHS leaders say the model is especially timely as federal ACA subsidies are scheduled to taper, leaving many families facing higher monthly payments. By using Reference-Based Pricing, AHS negotiates fair rates for services to avoid excessive charges and reduce waste.
Lejeune said America’s HealthShare is expanding its presence in communities like Orange County as demand grows for healthcare options that align with families’ values, budgets, and priorities.
