Home Affordable Care Act Topics

Affordable Care Act

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?

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on the Affordable Care Act

Stay informed.

Get KFF's
latest on the Affordable
Care Act

View the Latest: Affordable Care Act

Filter

List Grid

2,231 - 2,240 of 2,780 Results

  • Estimating Federal Payments and Eligibility for Basic Health Programs: An Illustrative Example

    Report

    In some states, policymakers and stakeholders are considering adoption of the Basic Health Program (BHP) option permitted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Federal regulations allow BHP implementation beginning in 2015. Through BHP, consumers with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) who would otherwise qualify for subsidized qualified health plans (QHPs) offered in health insurance marketplaces instead are offered state-contracting standard health plans that provide coverage…

  • How 13 Million Americans Could Lose Insurance Subsidies

    From Drew Altman

    This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on November 19, 2014. Kaiser Family Foundation calculations of how many Americans could lose subsidies in 2016 depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell. The Supreme Court is expected to rule next year on King v. Burwell, the lawsuit in which the federal government’s authority to provide financial assistance to people who buy insurance in federally operated insurance exchanges is being challenged under a…

  • Mapping Marketplace Enrollment

    Interactive

    This interactive zip code tool and map displays enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplaces as a share of the potential market in small geographic areas across the country.

  • Following Midterms, Both Democrats and Republicans Expect Washington to Continue to Debate the Affordable Care Act, But the Public Is Splintered Over What Congress Should Do

    News Release

    About Half of Uninsured Expect To Find Coverage in the Coming Months, Though Another Quarter Say They Won't Because They Do Not Believe They Can Find an Affordable Plan Following the Nov. 4 midterm elections that saw Republicans seize control of the Senate and expand their House majority, nearly half of Americans (47%) expect increased debate between the two parties over the Affordable Care Act, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's latest tracking poll. In comparison,…

  • Key Findings on Medicaid Managed Care: Highlights from the Medicaid Managed Care Market Tracker

    Report

    This report highlights 10 key findings on the Medicaid managed care market, based on analysis of data included in the Kaiser Family Foundation's Medicaid Managed Care Market Tracker. The findings provide a partial profile of the Medicaid MCO market nationally and by state. They also illuminate the involvement of large, multi-state health insurance companies in the Medicaid market and the participation of these firms in other markets as well, including the managed long-term services and…

  • Assessing the Performance of the U.S. Health System

    Issue Brief

    Health spending growth has consistently outpaced U.S. economic growth and is higher than medical spending in other wealthy countries. Despite spending more, the United States doesn't have better health outcome in terms of life expectancy, mortality rates and other measures. This brief provides an overview of trends in health costs and the performance of the U.S. health system, including comparisons to countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The brief charts growth…

  • New Spanish-Language Cartoon and Calculator to Help Consumers Understand Health Insurance

    News Release

    The Kaiser Family Foundation today released two new Spanish-language tools to help consumers better understand health insurance as they shop for plans during open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces and in other venues. El seguro de salud, explicado: ¡los YouToons lo tienen cubierto!, is a Spanish version of the five-minute cartoon video Health Insurance Explained – The YouToons Have It Covered, a light-hearted treatment of a difficult and important topic. It breaks down…

  • Majority Favors the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Mandate, But Opinion Can Shift When Presented With Pros and Cons

    News Release

    Recent news stories on the heath law did not attract most Americans’ attention, and many are unaware of details and implications of the developments Weeks before the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate takes effect in January, a new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds that six in 10 Americans (60%) say they have a favorable view of the provision, which in 2015 requires employers with 100 or more full time workers to offer health coverage…

  • Issue Brief Looks At Experiences of People with HIV With Health Coverage Under the ACA

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief examines the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on people with HIV in five states – California, Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas. Findings are drawn from focus groups in which participants discussed their experiences during the first year of the ACA’s major coverage expansions, with the goal of understanding the implications for individual HIV health outcomes and the nation's response to the epidemic. While many focus group…

  • New Policy Insight Examines Medical Debt Among Insured Consumers

    News Release

    In this new policy insight, Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Fellow Karen Pollitz explores how high cost sharing in health insurance plans can contribute to an individual’s medical debt, and explains how greater transparency in plan details could help consumers avoid some financial pitfalls. Medical Debt Among Insured Consumers: The Role of Cost Sharing, Transparency, and Consumer Assistance also provides an update on provisions of the Affordable Care Act meant to increase health plan transparency and…