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Affordable Care Act

The ACA MarketplaceS

Change in February effectuated enrollment, by state, 2025-2026

How Has ACA Marketplace Enrollment Changed Across States in 2026?

ACA Marketplace enrollment fell this year in every state except New Mexico, which was the only state to fully replace the enhanced premium tax credits that expired last year with a state-funded subsidy, according to a new KFF analysis of effectuated enrollment data. The Marketplace enrollment decline—the first in seven years—follows several years of rapid enrollment growth and coincides with the end of the enhanced federal subsidies.

How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going Up in 2027

ACA Marketplaces insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 15% in 2027, according to KFF’s updated analysis of 276 insurers with publicly available filings across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is the second consecutive year of double-digit premium hikes. Last year’s median nationwide proposed rate change was 18%, and the median finalized rate change was 20%. While this proposed rate change is lower than last year, it represents the second-highest requested rate change since 2018, as premium growth had been relatively flat in this market for several years.

About the ACA

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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?

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  • Medicare and Dental Coverage: A Closer Look

    Issue Brief

    Medicare does not cover routine dental care and about half of Medicare beneficiaries do not have dental coverage. Some beneficiaries have dental coverage through other sources, including Medicare Advantage, but 47% of all beneficiaries have not been to the dentist in the past year and many older adults face high out-of-pocket costs for needed dental care. This brief provides new data on the share of Medicare beneficiaries with dental coverage, the share with a dental…

  • Marketplace Insurers Denied Nearly 1 in 5 In-Network Claims in 2020, though It’s Often Not Clear Why

    News Release

    Healthcare.gov marketplace insurers denied nearly one out of every five claims (18%) submitted for in-network services in 2020, though why the denial rates are so high and the ultimate consequences for consumers are difficult to access from the publicly available data, a new KFF analysis finds. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to report data about claims denials and appeals to encourage transparency about how insurance coverage works for enrollees. The analysis examines data released…

  • ACA’s Maximum Out-of-Pocket Limit Is Growing Faster Than Wages

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that the ACA’s maximum out-of-pocket limit is likely to grow faster than wages and salaries, and is also expected to grow faster than the maximum out-of-pocket limit for Health Savings Account (HSA)-qualified health plans.

  • Health Affairs Article: Medicaid Expansion Under Health Reform May Increase Service Use and Improve Access For Low-Income Adults With Diabetes

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that Medicaid’s role in financing diabetes care will grow when many low-income uninsured people with diabetes become eligible for Medicaid as the program expansions under the Affordable Care Act in 2014. Adult Medicaid beneficiaries with diabetes had annual per person health expenditures more than three times higher than adult beneficiaries without the disease -- $14,229 versus $4,568, according to the study. At the same time, many uninsured adults with diabetes are less…

  • A Medicaid Block Grant Would Reduce Federal Spending But Trigger Substantial Cuts in Medicaid Coverage in the States That Would Increase the Uninsured

    News Release

    NEWS RELEASEMay 10, 2011 New State-By-State Analysis Shows House Budget Plan For Medicaid Would Reduce Enrollment By Tens of Millions Of People And Cut Funding For Hospitals And Other Medicaid Services WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Converting Medicaid into a block grant and repealing the health reform law as adopted by the House last month in a party-line vote would trigger major reductions in program spending and enrollment compared to current projections, a shift with big implications…

  • I am in my early 60s and have signed up for a Marketplace plan so that I have health insurance coverage until I qualify for Medicare at age 65. What happens when I go on Medicare?

    FAQs

    When you turn 65, you should sign up for Medicare and notify your Marketplace plan that you now qualify for Medicare coverage. Your Marketplace coverage will not be cancelled automatically by your plan when you turn 65 and sign up for Medicare, but if you receive premium tax credits to help you pay for your Marketplace plan premium, your eligibility for these tax credits will end when your Medicare Part A coverage starts (people with…

  • My employer offers a plan with very limited benefits. It only covers preventive services and a few doctor visits each year. However, this plan option is free. My employer also offers a more comprehensiv...

    FAQs

    The limited benefit plan you described probably does not meet the standard for “minimum value.” If that were the only plan your employer offered, you could qualify for premium tax credits to help pay for a more comprehensive plan on the Marketplace coverage. The premium tax credits could help you afford coverage that would be more comprehensive. However, if your employer also offers a major medical plan option that meets the test of minimum value,…

  • I’m working on an H-2A visa. Am I eligible for coverage in the Marketplace?

    FAQs

    Yes. Lawfully-present immigrants who are otherwise eligible for coverage – including “nonimmigrants” like H-2A workers and those on student visas – may purchase insurance in the Marketplace. Those who are low-income and otherwise eligible may also receive premium assistance and cost-sharing reductions to lower the cost of coverage in Marketplace plans. However, DACA is no longer considered an eligible immigration status for health coverage through the Marketplaces, and starting in 2027, certain other lawfully present…

  • How will an individual’s citizenship and immigration status be checked?

    FAQs

    Only those individuals in a family who are applying for health insurance are required to provide citizenship and immigration status. Applicants also must provide a Social Security Number if they have one. Citizenship and immigration status for those applying for health insurance will be checked electronically with several systems, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements). If an individual’s status cannot be checked through an…