Thanks to the Congressional Republicans, Health Insurance Premiums Are Set to Climb Again

Over the next several weeks, Americans will learn that their health insurance premiums will increase by double digits – again. Insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces have proposed a median premium increase of 15% for 2027 – the second consecutive year of double-digit increases, and the second-highest requested rate change since 2018. If these proposed 2027 increases hold, premiums for ACA Marketplace enrollees will have jumped by more than one-third over just two years. In some states, the average price hike is even higher, with New Mexico’s premium increase at 24.4% and Montana’s at 22.6%.

President Trump and Congressional Republicans let the enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of 2025, leaving millions of Americans uninsured. 

• At least 2.6 million people have lost their ACA Marketplace coverage so far, and experts expect the number to grow by the end of the year. Enrollment fell more in Republican districts, which represent 55% of current enrollees but 67% of the enrollment decline between 2025 and 2026. Paired with those who lost Medicaid coverage due to the OBBBA, nearly 8 million Americans have lost health insurance over the past year – a number that is expected to grow to 14 million by 2034. When enhanced premium tax credit expiration caused enrollment to fall, other, healthier enrollees also left the market, leaving a higher risk pool that pushed premiums even higher as insurers anticipated rising costs and fewer healthy enrollees to offset them.

Those who remain insured are now forced to absorb significant premium hikes. 

• After the tax credits expired, premium payments rose 58% on average, and deductibles rose 37%, or about $1,000 per person. And for next year, families will see another double-digit hike. Take a 40-year-old in Indianapolis earning $65,000 a year, for example: Before Trump’s OBBBA let the enhanced tax credits expire, their monthly premium would have been $316. After those credits expired and premiums rose, it would have jumped to $477 in 2026. If proposed 2027 rates are approved, it will climb again to $546 a month, a $230 (73%) increase in just two years.

Millions of families will soon be notified of their double-digit rate increases.

• Federal regulations require ACA open enrollment to begin no later than November 1st. So far, at least three states – Idaho, Connecticut, and Massachusetts – have announced earlier open enrollment start dates. Several states also run a “window shopping” period beforehand, letting consumers preview 2027 premiums before enrollment begins, some of which have already started:

Download a PDF of this timeline.

Endnotes

[1] The 2026 Enrollment Season, State Marketplace Network: https://statemarketplacenetwork.org/open-enrollment/.

[2] Average proposed or approved 2027 individual market rate changes, healthinsurance.org (accessed October 21, 2026): https://www.healthinsurance.org/blog/health-insurance-premium-increases-for-2027-proposed-rates-by-state-and-what-consumers-should-know/.

[3] For states that do not have a window shopping period, premium rates will become available once open enrollment begins. Some states may start window shopping without prior announcement (last updated October 21, 2026).