Details of Affordable Care Act (informally known as Obamacare) insurance plans for next year have been released on the Healthcare.gov marketplace, with open enrollment set to begin on Saturday.
Premium tax credits that were enhanced in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire at the end of this year. If Congress doesn’t extend these subsidies, Americans will have to pay much higher premiums in 2026.
KFF, a health policy research group, estimated that subsidized enrollees’ out-of-pocket premium payments on average will be 114% higher without the enhanced credits. To note, insurers in the ACA Marketplace are raising their rates by 26% on average in 2026.
Democrats have been demanding the extension of the ACA subsidies as a condition for supporting the Republican-led continuing resolution to fund the government. President Trump said the ACA issue won’t be discussed till the government shutdown ends.
“In plan year 2026, most enrollees on Healthcare.gov will have access to plans with premiums at or below $50 per month, after the application of premium tax credits,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced.
“The average Marketplace premium after tax credits is projected to be $50 per month for the lowest cost plan in 2026 for eligible enrollees,” the CMS noted. “While this represents a $13 increase from 2025, it remains $20 less expensive than the monthly premium after tax credits in 2020.”