Affordable Care Act

The ACA MarketplaceS

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.

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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  • KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Issues in the Lead-Up to the 2026 Midterm Election 

    Poll Finding

    With the 2026 midterms about a month away, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents…

  • The Group that Struggles the Most in American Health Care

    From Drew Altman

    In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF's Founding President and CEO, previews findings about the chronically ill uninsured from a large KFF survey of 25,000 Americans focusing on the cost and access challenges facing the chronically ill, which will be released tomorrow. He writes: “There are more than enough needs to go around in American health care, but if I had to pick the one group that struggles the most with costs and access,…

  • Prior Authorization Metrics Provide New Insights into Insurer Practices, but Gaps Remain

    Issue Brief

    This analysis of available 2025 prior authorization data finds insurers denied at least 1 in 8 standard requests for prior authorization across three insurance markets: Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, and the federally facilitated ACA Marketplaces. Denial rates varied wide segments by insurer. The analysis highlights limitations of the data and challenges for consumers interpreting it.

  • Doing More and Defying Labels in New Mexico

    From Drew Altman

    In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF's Founding President and CEO, discusses how New Mexico made childcare universal and became the only state to fully replace lost enhanced ACA tax credits while its leaders avoided polarizing labels like “progressive or “socialist.”

  • How Has ACA Marketplace Enrollment Changed Across States in 2026?

    Issue Brief

    Following several years of rapid enrollment growth in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces that corresponded with temporary enhanced premium tax credits, enrollment fell for the first time in seven years in 2026, when those tax credits expired. Every state except for New Mexico saw a drop in ACA Marketplace enrollment from 2025 to 2026. State-based Marketplaces that run their own enrollment platforms, including those that partially offset the expiring federal enhanced tax credits, generally…