Shock and dismay have already begun as Americans face next year’s health insurance costs—and it looks like everyone will be in for some grim numbers.
So far, much of the attention has been on the stratospheric prices that Americans might see on plans they buy from Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Critical tax credits for those plans are set to expire at the end of the year, and, on top of that, insurers have proposed a median 18 percent price increase for 2026. With the higher prices and a loss of credits, some Americans could see their monthly premiums more than double.
In an analysis last month, nonpartisan health policy group KFF estimated that, on average, ACA marketplace premiums would rise 114 percent, going from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.
Generally, those prices wouldn’t be seen until November, when open enrollment for health plans begins. However, The Washington Post reports that many states are offering previews of next year’s plans—and their eye-popping costs. Enrollees in Georgia, for instance, got access to plan previews earlier this month, and some are seeing their premiums triple.
“We have people saying they will have to choose between their monthly premiums and mortgage,” Natasha Taylor, deputy director of Georgia Watch, a consumer advocacy group, told the Post.
Currently, an extension of the ACA tax credits is at the center of a budget deadlock among federal lawmakers, which led to a government shutdown that is now the second-longest in US history. Democrats are demanding an extension on the credits—something nearly 80 percent of Americans also want—while Republicans are insisting on separate negotiations after passing the funding legislation.