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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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  • Quick Take: Medicaid: 3 Key Issues to Watch in 2013

    Fact Sheet

    2013 will be a historic year for Medicaid with the implementation of major provisions to expand coverage and streamline enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) less than a year away, a surge in activity around care delivery reforms that seek to improve care and potentially reduce costs, and the unfolding of fiscal developments at the state and federal level. Today, Medicaid provides health and long-term care coverage to more than 60 million low-income children,…

  • The Single Streamlined Application Under the Affordable Care Act: Key Elements of the Proposed Application and Current Medicaid and CHIP Applications

    Report

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes a number of changes to simplify the Medicaid enrollment process. As part of these changes, beginning in 2014 all states will be required to use a single, streamlined application provided by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services unless they receive approval to use an alternative application. A draft version of the streamlined application was released for public comment on January 28, 2013. This analysis provides an overview…

  • Why Premiums Will Change for People Who Now Have Nongroup Insurance

    Perspective

    The federal government recently released draft regulations that address the benefits, market rules, and rating practices for nongroup coverage. Before reform, the nongroup market was widely acknowledged to be broken, with restricted access, limited benefits, high administrative costs, and frequent and large premium increases subject to inadequate oversight. Recent requests for large premium hikes for nongroup coverage in some states, at a time when the group market is experiencing very low increases, have revived concerns about current pricing…

  • Massachusetts and Ohio: Capitated Financial Alignment Demonstrations for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries Compared

    Fact Sheet

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Massachusetts and Ohio to test a capitated financial alignment model to integrate care and align financing for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid in 2013. CMS also has signed an MOU with Washington to test a managed fee-for-service model. These three year demonstrations will introduce changes in the care delivery systems through which beneficiaries presently receive services…

  • Implementation of Affordable Care Act Provisions to Improve Nursing Home Transparency, Care Quality, and Abuse Prevention

    Report

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the first comprehensive legislation since the Nursing Home Reform Act, part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87), to expand quality of care-related requirements for nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid and improve federal and state oversight and enforcement. Despite the 1987 reforms, beginning in 1997, the Government Accountability Office issued more than 20 reports documenting serious quality of care problems in nursing homes…

  • Poll Finds Bipartisan Public Support For Creating State Insurance Exchanges Despite Continuing Party Divisions Over the ACA

    News Release

    More Americans Back Than Oppose State Medicaid Expansions But, Like Many Governors, Public Splits Along Party Lines On The Federal Deficit, Public Wants Action But Still Resists Most Cuts and Sacrifices, Especially to Medicare A majority of Americans put the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges at the top of the priority list for health policy in their state this year, according to a survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Robert Wood…

  • The Public’s Policy Agenda for the 113th Congress: Briefing and Panel Discussion

    Event Date:
    Event

    As the 113th Congress is sworn in, and President Barack Obama begins his second term of office, a comprehensive new Kaiser Family Foundation/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health survey queried the public about their priorities for, and views on, a wide range of health and health policy issues. These include issues that will preoccupy federal lawmakers, such as the role of Medicare in the deficit reduction debate, as well as issues currently being…