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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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  • Change in Benchmark Silver Premiums, 2014 – 2015

    Feature

    Change in Benchmark Silver Premiums 2015 MAP_HI_and_MA.ppt Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of data from Healthcare.gov and insurer rate filings to state regulators. For more information see  “Analysis of 2015 Premium Changes in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplaces” Sept. 2014.

  • How Obamacare’s Progress Makes Expanding Coverage Harder

    From Drew Altman

    This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on July 21, 2014. The Affordable Care Act’s success meeting its initial enrollment goals and the repair of HealthCare.gov seem to have calmed the political waters for Obamacare. But the job of enrolling the uninsured gets harder, not easier, because the remaining uninsured will generally be tougher to reach. Recent surveys show, roughly in line with expectations, that 8 million to 9.5 million fewer adults are uninsured compared with last year before…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 — March 2008

    Poll Finding

    Growing economic worries have led to a sharp rise in the economy as a campaign issue, eclipsing health on voters’ priority list, as well as Iraq. With economic concerns rising, where will health fit in the ongoing presidential campaign?  This March 2008 poll finds that health care plays a role in two ways: as an independent issue, and as part of the voters’ growing concerns about the economy. Health care ranks third as the issue…

  • 50 Ways to Implement Health Reform: State Challenges and Federal Assistance

    Event Date:
    Event

    This briefing looks into the key challenges facing states, including working within state legislative cycles against tight deadlines in the federal law, creating new roles at the state level as state budgets are being squeezed, and others. It looks at both near-term provisions, such as high risk pools, as well as other provisions farther down the road, such as setting up exchanges and instituting changes to Medicaid eligibility. This August 2 briefing was cosponsored by…

  • Implementing New Private Health Insurance Market Rules

    Issue Brief

    With the Jan. 1, 2014 effective date for implementing major changes in the private insurance market under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) approaching, this brief looks at three proposed federal regulations released in late November 2012 that detail how the ACA’s rules will operate in the following areas: private insurance market reforms, essential health benefits and actuarial value, and wellness programs offered or required by employers under group health plans. These regulations deal with aspects…

  • The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the 113th Congress

    Poll Finding

    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…

  • Analysis: Most Short-Term Health Plans Don’t Cover Drug Treatment or Prescription Drugs, and None Cover Maternity Care

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of short-term, limited duration health plans for sale through two major national online brokers finds big gaps in the benefits they offer. Through an executive order and proposed new regulations, the Trump Administration is seeking to encourage broader use of short-term, limited duration health plans as a cheaper alternative to individual market plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act’s requirements. Repeal of the individual mandate penalty – which…