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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

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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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  • ¿Hay alguna razón por la que el mercado no ajustaría y continuaría automáticamente mi subsidio para la prima al momento de la renovación?

    FAQs

    Si vive en un estado que utiliza cuidadodesalud.gov , cuando solicitó cobertura por primera vez, tuvo la oportunidad de autorizar al mercado a consultar sus datos de ingresos en línea, incluyendo sus declaraciones de impuestos, durante 1 a 5 años. Si no lo autorizó, su asistencia financiera NO se renovará automáticamente para el próximo año, y debe volver a aplicar. Si vive en un estado que opera su propio mercado de seguros, el proceso para…

  • ¿Hay momentos especiales para inscribirse en el mercado para las personas que han perdido Medicaid o CHIP?

    FAQs

    En los estados que usan cuidadodesalud.gov, el período especial de inscripción actual debido a la pérdida de Medicaid o CHIP se extenderá de 60 a 90 días. Esto significa que los consumidores tendrán hasta 90 días después de la pérdida de esos beneficios para inscribirse en el mercado de seguros. En los mercados de seguros estatales, el período especial de inscripción tras la pérdida de la cobertura de Medicaid o CHIP es de 90 días;…

  • My company provides funds for workers to buy health insurance on their own instead of providing health insurance through the company. Can I still qualify for premium tax credits to buy a Marketplace plan?

    FAQs

    Employees who receive funds to buy health insurance on the individual market can sometimes still qualify for premium tax credits, depending on the type of health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) their employer offers and its affordability to you: Employers with fewer than 50 workers may offer what’s known as a Qualified Small Employer HRA. If your employer offers this type of coverage arrangement and it is considered “affordable” based on your household income, you will not…

  • What an Income Cap Could Mean for ACA Enrollees and the Federal Budget

    Quick Insights

    Some members of Congress are considering an income cap on the ACA enhanced premium tax credits to lower federal costs. Depending on the income cutoff chosen, a cap may have little effect on the federal budget and a big effect on some households’ budgets, particularly for older enrollees.

  • A Medicaid Per Capita Cap: State by State Estimates

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines the potential impacts on states, Medicaid enrollees, and providers of implementing a per capita cap on federal Medicaid spending, which is one proposal that has been discussed in Congress. Such a plan could decrease federal Medicaid spending by $532 billion to almost $1 trillion over a 10-year period, depending on how states respond. An estimated 15 million people could lose Medicaid coverage by 2034.

  • Utilization of Health Care Services by Medicaid Expansion Status

    Issue Brief

    Some critics of Medicaid expansion have argued that expansion diverts resources away from other groups of Medicaid enrollees, including people with disabilities and children, and that expansion enrollees are “able-bodied” implying they have minimal health care needs. However, data show that expansion states spend more per enrollee overall and on each eligibility group than non-expansion states and that nearly half of expansion enrollees have a chronic condition. This data note analyzes 2021 Medicaid claims data…

  • Proposals for Insurance Options That Don’t Comply with ACA Rules: Trade-offs In Cost and Regulation

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines four options to promote the sale of health plan options in the individual or non-group market that are not subject to Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements for other major medical health plans. It reviews the trade-offs involved if such loosely regulated markets take root as an alternative to the ACA-regulated market, particularly as the repeal of the individual mandate penalty takes effect next year.

  • Brief Examines Efforts to Create Health Plan Options that Don’t Comply with the Affordable Care Act’s Rules

    News Release

    Though Congress last year failed to repeal key Affordable Care Act requirements for non-group health insurance that people buy themselves, the Trump Administration and some states are promoting other types of plans through regulatory changes that would allow the sale of products that skirt many of the ACA’s requirements. A new Kaiser Family Foundation brief examines four of those options and the tradeoffs involved if such loosely regulated markets take root as an alternative to…