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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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  • Navigating the Family Glitch Fix: Hurdles for Consumers with Employer-sponsored Coverage

    Issue Brief

    About 5 million people could benefit from the fix to the Affordable Care Act’s “family glitch” that allows workers offered unaffordable family coverage to get subsidies in the marketplace – if they can show they qualify. This brief looks at some of the challenges consumers may face in deciding whether to take advantage of the fix.

  • Recent Studies Show That Medicaid Expansion Has Improved the Financial Performance of Hospitals and Other Providers, In Line With Prior Research

    News Release

    A KFF synthesis of recent studies finds that Medicaid expansion has been beneficial to the finances of hospitals and providers, driving decreases in the share of uninsured patients, increases in Medicaid-covered patients and declines in uncompensated care. By financing coverage for low-income people who are likely to otherwise be uninsured, Medicaid expansion provides potential economic benefits to the health care providers who provide care to that population. Studies suggest that hospitals experienced higher reimbursements and…

  • More Than 6 in 10 of the Remaining 27.4 Million Uninsured People in the U.S. are Eligible for Subsidized ACA Marketplace Coverage, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program

    News Release

    Recent policy attention has focused on efforts to reduce the number of uninsured people in the U.S. by expanding eligibility for coverage assistance, including enhanced premium subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace and filling the Medicaid “coverage gap.” A new KFF analysis shows that a majority of the 27.4 million people who remained uninsured in 2020 already are eligible for financial assistance for coverage through Medicaid/CHIP or the Marketplace, suggesting that policies in…

  • Summary of Costs and Impact of the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Build Back Better Act

    News Release

    As the House-passed Build Back Better Act moves to the Senate, a new explainer from KFF summarizes the key prescription drug provisions within the broader budget reconciliation bill. These provisions would lower prescription drug costs paid by people with Medicare and private insurance and curb drug spending by the federal government and private payers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates federal budget savings from the drug pricing provisions would be $297 billion over 10 years. Although…

  • 2022 Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator

    Interactive

    The Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator, updated with 2022 premium data, provides estimates of health insurance premiums and subsidies for people purchasing insurance on their own in health insurance exchanges (or “Marketplaces”) created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • ¿Cómo funcionan los subsidios para las primas?

    FAQs

    Los subsidios para las primas reducen la prima (lo que paga cada mes por su cobertura) para la mayoría de los planes del mercado de seguros. El monto del crédito fiscal que puede recibir depende de sus ingresos y del costo de los planes de salud del mercado en su área. El mercado determinará la contribución esperada que debe pagar para la prima de un plan de referencia de rango medio (Plata). La contribución esperada…

  • ¿Cómo aplico para recibir los subsidios para ayudarme a pagar las primas?

    FAQs

    Comience completando la solicitud de cobertura en línea en cuidadodesalud.gov. Esto podría ser más rápido, aunque también puede enviarla mediante una solicitud impresa por correo postal o llamando al centro de atención telefónica del mercado y solicitando por teléfono. Solicitar en línea es probablemente la opción más rápida. Para solicitar en línea, deberá crear una cuenta personal segura con un nombre de usuario y una contraseña. Haga clic aquí para obtener información sobre cómo configurar…