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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?

The ACA MarketplaceS

In Preliminary Rate Filings, ACA Marketplace Insurers Largely Propose Double-Digit Premium Increase For 2027, Following a Steep Climb This Year 

ACA Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 14% for 2027— indicating a likely second consecutive year of double-digit increases, according to a new analysis of preliminary rate filings in 16 states and DC. If these increases hold, typical premiums for insurers participating in the ACA Marketplaces would jump by more than one-third between 2025 and 2027.

The Average Marketplace Deductible Grew by About $1,000 Per Person in 2026, With More Enrollees Shifting to Higher-Deductible Plans as Enhanced Tax Credits Expired

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.

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  • Association Health Plans for Small Groups and Self-Employed Individuals under the Better Care Reconciliation Act

    Issue Brief

    A provision in the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), would establish association health plan options for small employers and self-employed individuals. For these plans, the requirement that premiums cannot vary based on health status would not apply. This brief describes how association health plans could affect premiums in the small group and non-group markets.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – June 2017: Women’s Health

    Feature

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to cover the full cost of prescription birth control as part of their health insurance plans. The June Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that a majority of the public support the requirement for private health insurance plans to cover the full cost of birth control. This includes a majority of Democrats, independents, and Republicans.

  • The Republican Base is Getting Less Excited About Health Care

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman explains that as Republican policymakers are focused on delivering a repeal of Obamacare for their base, polling shows that it’s not a top priority for Trump supporters, and their intensity on a replacement plan has declined, suggesting that the issue may not drive turnout for future elections.

  • ACA Replacement Plans and the Individual Market

    Feature

    This slideshow compares premiums and tax credits under proposed replacement plans for the Affordable Care Act, including the Senate's Better Care Reconciliation Act and the House-passed American Health Care Act.

  • Media Availability on Senate Health Bill

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Kaiser Family Foundation held a media-only conference call Tuesday, June 27, with key experts to explain the Senate Republican health bill and to answer questions about its implications and the CBO’s scoring of the bill. During the call, Kaiser's experts  answered reporters' questions about the bill’s potential impact and implications, including how premiums, tax credits, and insurer participation in the ACA’s marketplaces could change; how the bill would phase out federal funding for the…

  • Premiums under the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides estimates of how premiums, after taking into account tax credits, would differ in 2020 under the Senate's Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) vs. the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for people currently enrolled in the federal and state insurance marketplaces.

  • Estimates: Average Monthly Premium after Tax Credit Would Be 74% Higher Under Senate Health Bill in 2020

    News Release

    A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average monthly premium for a benchmark silver plan after tax credits in 2020 would be 74 percent higher under the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) compared to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Overall, most marketplace enrollees would pay higher premiums under the Senate bill than current law, the analysis finds. Older and lower-income enrollees would see the biggest increases, with people age 55-64…

  • New County-Level Map Compares Premiums and Tax Credits Under Senate Health Bill and ACA

    News Release

    A new interactive map from the Kaiser Family Foundation compares county-level estimates of premiums that consumers would pay under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2020 with what they’d pay under the Senate’s discussion draft, Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), a replacement plan unveiled last Thursday. The maps include premium and tax credit estimates by county for current ACA marketplace enrollees at age 27, 40, or 60 with an annual income of $20,000, $30,000, $40,000,…