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A discharge petition in the House paves the way for a vote on a three-year extension of the tax credits, which would provide ACA enrollees premium relief whenever it comes. While there is still time to extend the enhanced tax credits, with each passing day, more and more ACA Marketplace enrollees are going to drop their health insurance when faced with eye-popping increases in their premium payments, writes KFF’s Larry Levitt.
Commercial health insurance markets remain highly concentrated across coverage types. However, the individual market, which consists mostly of the ACA Marketplaces, has attracted more insurers and witnessed greater insurer competition across a variety of measures since the implementation of the enhanced premium tax credits in 2021, according to a new Healthy System Tracker analysis.
Timely insights and analysis from KFF staff
The amount health insurers charge for coverage on the ACA Marketplaces is rising 26%, on average, in 2026.... Most enrollees would face even sharper increases in what they pay if they ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits expire. ... more
Some members of Congress are considering an income cap on the ACA enhanced premium tax credits to lower federal costs. Depending on the income cutoff chosen, a cap may have little effect on the federal budget and a big effect on some households’ budgets, particularly for older enrollees. ... more
The debate over these enhanced tax credits can be seen as a proxy for the broader public’s concerns about health care affordability which may be why the public is largely in favor of extending these subsidies – even as overall views of the ACA are still very polarized. ... more
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Cynthia Cox 
Jared Ortaliza 
Ashley Kirzinger