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The ACA MarketplaceS

Change in February effectuated enrollment, by state, 2025-2026

How Has ACA Marketplace Enrollment Changed Across States in 2026?

ACA Marketplace enrollment fell this year in every state except New Mexico, which was the only state to fully replace the enhanced premium tax credits that expired last year with a state-funded subsidy, according to a new KFF analysis of effectuated enrollment data. The Marketplace enrollment decline—the first in seven years—follows several years of rapid enrollment growth and coincides with the end of the enhanced federal subsidies.

How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going Up in 2027

ACA Marketplaces insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 15% in 2027, according to KFF’s updated analysis of 276 insurers with publicly available filings across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is the second consecutive year of double-digit premium hikes. Last year’s median nationwide proposed rate change was 18%, and the median finalized rate change was 20%. While this proposed rate change is lower than last year, it represents the second-highest requested rate change since 2018, as premium growth had been relatively flat in this market for several years.

About the ACA

Promotional image for KFF video How Affordable is the Affordable Care Act

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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  • Public Split On What to Do About the Health Care System, Though More Support Building on ACA Than Repealing It, Replacing with a GOP Alternative, or Creating a Single Payer Plan

    News Release

    Following Flint Water Crisis, Nearly Half Worry about Their Community's Water Supply Almost Half of Public is Concerned about a Widespread Zika Outbreak in U.S. This Year The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the public as divided as the remaining presidential candidates over their vision for the future of the nation's health care system. When asked to choose among four broad approaches for changing the health care system currently being discussed, the largest share…

  • Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, "Medicare-for-All vs. Single Payer: The Impact of Labels", Drew Altman uses new polling on a Medicare-for-all or single payer health system to explain how what you call a health reform plan can substantially affect the public's response.

  • Average Individual Mandate Penalty to Rise 47 Percent to $969 in 2016 for Uninsured People Eligible for ACA Plans

    News Release

     3.5 Million Could Have a Zero-Dollar Premium Contribution or Pay Less for Health Insurance than Penalty Due to Premium Subsidies; 7.1 Million Would Pay More to Get Coverage A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that among uninsured people who are eligible for an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan, the average penalty for remaining without coverage in 2016 would be $969 per household – 47 percent higher than the 2015 estimated average of $661.…

  • Few Uninsured Know Date of Pending Deadline for Obtaining Marketplace Coverage; Many Say They Will Get Coverage Soon, Though Cost is a Concern

    News Release

    Most Democrats Like Medicare-for-All, But Very Few Say the Issue Will Drive Their Votes in the 2016 Elections Similar to Last Month, More Hold Unfavorable Views of the ACA than Favorable Ones The Affordable Care Act's third open enrollment period will end on Jan. 31, but the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that only a small share of people without health insurance realize it. Just 7 percent of the uninsured correctly identify January as…

  • Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Medicare for All

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores the differing positions of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on a single payer or Medicare-for-all health care system and whether Democratic voters consider it an important factor in the 2016 primaries. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.

  • Surprise Medical Bills

    Issue Brief

    This brief explores the problem of "surprise medical bills" -- charges arising when an insured individual inadvertently receives care from an out-of-network provider. It reviews studies on the extent of the issue, including Kaiser Family Foundation polling data, and outlines state and federal policy responses, including rules and proposed rules for Medicare and plans in Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

  • Two Substantive Sides to Debate Over Obamacare’s ‘Cadillac Tax’

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman says the debate about whether to keep or repeal the Cadillac tax is more than a debate between sound policy and good politics, there are strong substantive arguments on both sides. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Will GOP Candidates’ Positions on Obamacare Matter in Crowded Field?

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman analyzes the politics of Republican Affordable Care Act replacement plans and the challenges all Republican candidates will face distinguishing themselves from others on the ACA in a crowded primary field. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Analysis Examines How Gaining Health Coverage Affected Consumers’ Lives in 2014

    News Release

    An analysis of a 2014 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that previously uninsured Americans who obtained health coverage that year experienced improved access to care and a decrease in financial insecurity, though they remained concerned about cost.  The analysis of the 2014 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans and the ACA finds that about 11 million previously uninsured nonelderly adults obtained health coverage during 2014, the year the ACA’s new coverage options were fully…