Many Americans straining to pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance are unlikely to get relief next year, according to a new analysis that shows insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second straight year of double-digit premium hikes.
Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.
The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF. While many Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees making 400% of the poverty level or more will face an especially stark increase in costs.
The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans’ existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with November’s midterm elections looming.
Insurers cite rising costs and a smaller, sicker covered population
Health insurers must send filings to regulators every year, explaining what they expect to see in premium rate changes for individual market health plans for the coming year.
Next year’s rates will be finalized later in the summer, but KFF’s analysis looked at those in the ACA marketplace that already are public across 16 states and Washington, D.C., to get an early glimpse at what insurers are saying. The report measured insurers’ premium increases as an average across all types of plans—bronze, silver, gold and platinum.
The analysis found that insurers listed rising costs across the healthcare sector—from hospital visits to prescription drugs, the workforce and sicker patients—as the biggest cause of rising premiums. Overall inflation contributed to that pressure, driving prices higher across the entire economy.
The Associated Press has the full story.
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