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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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  • Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, President Trump and Democratic Nominee Joe Biden Offer Widely Different Views on Health Care

    News Release

    President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden hold widely divergent views on health issues, with the president’s record and response to the coronavirus pandemic likely to play a central role in November’s elections. A new KFF side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, HIV, mental…

  • New Survey Finds 1 in 5 Potential Marketplace and Medicaid Enrollees Used Consumer Assistance, But Many Others Report Trying and Failing to Obtain Help

    News Release

    A new KFF survey finds that nearly one in five potential marketplace and Medicaid enrollees – an estimated 7 million people - say that they got assistance applying for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans or Medicaid in the past year, while one in eight – an estimated 5 million – tried and failed to obtain help. The survey suggests a shortage of consumer assistance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted job-based health…

  • Consumer Assistance in Health Insurance: Evidence of Impact and Unmet Need

    Issue Brief

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established in-person consumer assistance programs to help people identify coverage options and enroll. A variety of professionals provide consumer assistance, including Navigator programs that are funded through state and federal marketplaces, brokers who receive commissions from insurers, local non-profit organizations, and health care providers. In the spring of 2020, KFF surveyed consumers most likely to use or benefit from consumer assistance to learn who uses consumer assistance, why they seek…

  • Individual Insurance Market Performance in Early 2020

    Issue Brief

    Individual market insurers, on average, remained profitable through the first three months of 2020 as claims costs rose only slightly compared to the same period last year. It is likely that the most significant impacts of the coronavirus on the individual market will not be evident nationally until second or third quarter data are released.

  • Insurance Coverage and Viral Suppression Among People with HIV in the United States, 2015-2018

    Feature

    Health insurance coverage and access to care improve health outcomes, including viral suppression, for people with HIV in the United States. Prior research has demonstrated that implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014 increased coverage among people with HIV and that certain forms of coverage are positively correlated with sustained viral suppression. We provide a 2018 update, the latest nationally representative data in this area, as well as trends over time.

  • 4.7 Million Uninsured Adults Could Become Eligible for Medicaid by 2021 if All Remaining States Expanded the Program under the ACA

    News Release

    About 4.7 million uninsured adults could gain eligibility for Medicaid by 2021 if the 14 remaining non-expansion states were to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a new KFF analysis finds. That figure includes an estimated 2.8 million adults who already were uninsured prior to the coronavirus pandemic and would fall in the “coverage gap” – meaning they have incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low for ACA marketplace subsidies –…

  • How Many Uninsured Adults Could Be Reached If All States Expanded Medicaid?

    Issue Brief

    As more people lose their jobs and accompanying ESI, more may fall into the coverage gap, particularly starting in 2021 after unemployment benefits expire for many who have lost their jobs and incomes are likely to drop below the minimum threshold for marketplace subsidies. This analysis estimates how many uninsured adults—including those uninsured even before the pandemic and those who could become uninsured as a result of it— could become eligible for Medicaid if states…