NBC NEWS – People who get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act could soon see their monthly premiums sharply increase as subsidies expire and insurers propose a major premium hike for 2026.
Insurers that offer plans through the ACA are planning an average premium increase of 15% for 2026 — the largest increase in seven years, according to an analysis published Friday from KFF, a health policy research group.
The analysis is based on filings from more than 100 insurers in 19 states and Washington, D.C.
The increase will likely come on top of the loss of enhanced subsidies that helped people pay for ACA health plans by capping the costs at a certain proportion of their income.
The finalized plans — including how much more people will be expected to pay each month — are usually published around August.
The enhanced subsidies came out of the 2021 American Rescue Plan and broadened the number of people eligible, including many in the middle class. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022, extended the subsidies through 2025.
The domestic policy bill that President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this month, however, did not extend them further. (Subsidies for people with very low incomes that were put in place when the ACA was enacted will still be available.)
The bill also added more hurdles for people who get their health insurance through the ACA, such as adding new paperwork requirements to renew coverage each year.
Nearly 4 million people were projected to lose their coverage next year if the subsidies weren’t extended, according to a 2024 analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
A loss of coverage would also have implications for the cost of insurance.
With fewer people enrolled, insurers would have to spread the costs among a smaller group of people, pushing premiums higher …
