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In his latest column, president and CEO Drew Altman discusses why debate about extending the ACA enhanced tax credits set to expire this year has been slow to develop, and why it could matter to Republicans politically if the tax credits are not extended.
In his latest column, President and CEO Drew Altman shows how proposals contained in the House reconciliation bill could result in a one-third reduction in ACA Marketplace enrollment. “While all eyes are on the big Medicaid cuts being proposed in the House,” he writes, “significant changes are also being proposed that together would dramatically reduce enrollment in the ACA Marketplaces.”
This analysis examines early indicators of how the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits has affected effectuated enrollment levels (i.e., enrollment among people who have paid their premiums), plan selections, and out-of-pocket costs in 2026, drawing on plan selection and effectuated enrollment data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state-based Marketplace (SBM) Open Enrollment reports, as well as KFF survey data and individual market enrollment estimates from Wakely Consulting Group.
The average Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace deductible experienced the steepest increase in history—growing by 37% or over $1,000, from $2,759 in 2025 to $3,786 in 2026 as enhanced premium tax credits expired, according to a new KFF analysis. After the enhanced tax credits ended, many Marketplace shoppers shifted toward lower-premium, higher-deductible plans.
The Trump administration this week backed off a key element of its Medicare Advantage rate proposal, resulting in billions of dollars in additional payments to private insurers.
This issue brief presents findings on policy decisions related to implementation of Medicaid work requirements. The findings draw on information from the annual survey of state Medicaid and CHIP program officials conducted by KFF and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families for the 43 states (including DC) that will be required to implement work requirements and from focus groups with officials in eight states: Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.
This paper examines the impact on enrollment and families of Arizona's Dec. 21, 2009, decision to freeze enrollment in KidsCare, the state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The CHIP enrollment freeze, enacted in response to recession-driven state budget pressures, saved the state $12.9 million in FY 2011, but has also resulted in more than 100,000 children being placed on a waiting list for coverage and the loss of $41 million in federal matching funds. Issue…
The House-passed legislation to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) includes a provision that would prohibit Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) policies from covering the Part B deductible for people who become eligible for Medicare beginning in 2020. A new Kaiser Family Foundation Data Note explores the implications of this proposal and finds that about 10 percent of 65-year olds on Medicare would have been affected in 2010 (the most recent year for which data…
Medicaid enrollment growth slowed to 2.7 percent in state fiscal year 2017, down from 3.9 percent the prior year and far off the peak of 13.2 percent in 2015 that followed implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Findings of Kaiser’s 17th annual 50-state survey of Medicaid directors across the country suggest the slowdown in enrollment growth may be attributable to the tapering…
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly modernized and streamlined Medicaid enrollment and renewal processes across all states. Through major investments of time, money, and staff, most states have implemented modernized systems that transformed lengthy, paperwork driven enrollment and renewal procedures to a simplified, technology-driven experience that minimizes burdens on individuals and states. Recently approved and proposed waivers and other proposed policies include new eligibility and enrollment requirements and restrictions that run counter to the ACA’s…
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