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The ACA MarketplaceS

What We Know about Trump’s $500 ACA Checks and the User Fees Funding Them

This analysis examines the $500 checks that the Trump administration is sending to some Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollees and the user fees that are paying for them. The checks are going to about 1 million enrollees in the 30 states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov Marketplace who are not receiving any tax credits this year.

Individual Market Enrollment Declined by 18% Since June 2025

Individual Market Enrollment Fell 18%, Suggesting Continued ACA Marketplace Losses

Enrollment in the individual health insurance market fell by 18%—over 4.6 million people—from 25.2 million in June 2025 to 20.5 million in June 2026. Falling individual market enrollment suggests further decline in ACA Marketplace enrollment this year, since Marketplace enrollees represent the vast majority of individual market coverage. The enrollment decline coincides with the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits and other policy changes that are expected to reduce enrollment.

About the ACA

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Did the Affordable Care Act Make Health Care More Affordable?

The expiration of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits at the start of 2026, combined with rising insurer premiums, put a spotlight on health care affordability that extends beyond Marketplace enrollees. KFF’s Cynthia Cox examines the ACA’s record and the broader underlying question it raises: what’s a fair price for Americans people to pay for health care?

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  • ANALYSIS: ACA Marketplace Premiums Rise Substantially in 2018, But Many Will Pay Less for Coverage

    News Release

    Premiums will rise substantially in 2018 Affordable Care Act marketplace plans for states using HealthCare.gov, but in many cases, people receiving premium tax credits will pay less than they did in 2017, a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds. The new analysis includes county-level interactive maps charting premium changes of lowest-cost gold, silver, and bronze plans for consumers with and without premium tax credits in the 2018 HealthCare.gov marketplaces. For people not eligible for tax…

  • ANALYSIS: ACA Silver Plan Premium Increases from 7% to 38% Attributed to End of Cost-Sharing Payments

    News Release

    Insurers factored in premium increases ranging from 7 percent to 38 percent exclusively in silver plans to absorb the financial impact of the loss of cost-sharing reduction payments from the federal government, a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds. The approach, used by insurers in many states, shields consumers from steep rate hikes, because tax credits defraying the cost of premiums rise dollar-for-dollar along with benchmark silver rates. Eighty-four percent of marketplace enrollees received premium…

  • How the Loss of Cost-Sharing Subsidy Payments is Affecting 2018 Premiums

    Issue Brief

    This analysis of 32 states and Washington, D.C., tracks data on 2018 Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace premium increases that insurers directly attributed to the end of cost-sharing reduction payments, which reimburse insurers for providing marketplace health plans with reduced out-of-pocket costs for lower-income people. Following months of uncertainty, the Trump administration announced on Oct. 12 that the payments would be discontinued immediately, although insurers must still offer the subsidized coverage.

  • Data Note: Public’s Views of a National Health Plan

    Feature

    The Kaiser Family Foundation's Health Tracking Poll from October 2017 asked the public of their views of a national health plan, and whether they favor or oppose the implementation of such a program. While about half of the public favors having a national health plan, there is a strong partisan divide with the majority of Republicans strongly opposing such a plan and nearly half of Democrats strongly favoring the plan. This poll also asked the…

  • How Medicaid Section 1115 Waivers Are Evolving: Early Insights About What to Watch

    Issue Brief

    While efforts to pass major federal legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and restructure and reduce federal Medicaid financing may be on hold temporarily, the focus of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and states is expected to turn to achieving significant Medicaid program changes through Section 1115 demonstration waivers. This issue brief presents three questions to help analyze the evolution of federal waiver policy as new waiver proposals…