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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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  • An Early Look at the Affordable Care Act and Women

    News Release

    On Thursday, May 15 at 9:30 a.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation will host a public briefing to release a new report based on the Foundation’s most recent comprehensive survey on women’s health.  This report provides new findings that will be critical to understanding women’s early experiences with the coverage changes that are part of the Affordable Care Act, including the latest information on:  Private and public insurance coverage rates for women  Use of preventive…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: May 2014

    Feature

    More than four years after the Affordable Care Act's enactment and more than a month after the close of open enrollment, six in 10 Americans say the health reform law has not had an impact on them or their families, Kaiser’s May Tracking Poll finds. Among those who say it has, Republicans are much more likely to say their families have been hurt by the law than helped, while Democrats are more likely to say…

  • Individual Market Enrollment Ticks Up in Early 2014

    Issue Brief

    This early look at the growth in the individual or nongroup market during the first three months of 2014 uses first quarter enrollment data submitted by insurance companies to state regulators to estimate the size of the market at the end of March. It includes both on and off exchange enrollment and is net of any people leaving the market (whether through plan cancellations or general churn in the market). It does not include the…

  • The Washington State Health Care Landscape

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet provides an overview of population health, health coverage, and health care delivery in Washington under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • Medicaid Enrollment Snapshot: December 2013

    Issue Brief

    This report focuses on changes in monthly Medicaid enrollment between December 2012 and December 2013. This is a long standing report series that collects monthly Medicaid enrollment data for December (and June, not reported here) going back to 2000. While the most recent data included in this report predate preliminary data released by CMS that show the early effects of full implementation of the ACA, this report series is an important source of historical trend…

  • Strategies in 4 Safety-Net Hospitals to Adapt to the ACA

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines four safety-net hospitals to learn how they were preparing for the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in order to gain additional insight into the strategies being used and challenges being faced among safety-net hospitals across the country.

  • Measles Outbreak and Vaccination Debate Capture Public’s Attention

    News Release

    Those Following Measles Story More Likely To Say They Worry About the DiseaseThe public paid more attention to news coverage of the measles outbreak in the U.S. and the resulting debate on whether vaccinations should be required for all kids than any other news story included in this month's Kaiser Health Policy News Index. A total of 70 percent of Americans say they closely followed the measles story, more than say the same about the…

  • Medicaid and Family Planning: Background and Implications of the ACA

    Issue Brief

    This brief reviews the role of Medicaid in financing and enabling access to family planning services for low-income women; discusses how states have expanded access to these services with Medicaid; and highlights future programmatic challenges in the context of the health care delivery and coverage reforms resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).