Obamacare Premiums Set To Surge Next Year

Obamacare health insurance premiums are set to increase by double digits again in 2027, according to estimates from KFF released Wednesday.

Among 77 health insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces from the 16 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. with filings that are already publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for next year is 14%, according to KFF’s analysis. This marks the second consecutive year of double-digit premium increases in the ACA Marketplaces, KFF reported.

The median nationwide proposed rate change was 18% for 2026, and the median finalized rate change was 20%, according to KFF.

Health insurers partly attributed proposed premium increases for next year to soaring medical service costs, general economic inflation, labor shortages and enhanced federal tax credits expiring at the end of 2025, per KFF’s analysis.

“When there is so much uncertainty, insurers are raising premiums higher than they otherwise would be, and the end result is that consumers are footing a larger bill for their premiums if they’re not receiving federal tax credits,” KFF policy analyst Matthew McGough said, The Hill reported.

Though, the final amount may change because insurers have until July 15 to submit their paperwork for 2027 ACA insurance premium requests, USA Today reported.

The new analysis comes as concerns over unaffordable healthcare costs have been mounting among Americans in recent years. A KFF survey released in March found that half of respondents who have re-enrolled in ACA Marketplace coverage reported that their healthcare costs have been “a lot higher” in 2026.

An estimated 19.2 million Americans are currently enrolled in ACA Exchange plans, according to June data from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. An April report from healthcare actuarial services company Wakely projected that average enrollment in the individual market could decline 17% to 26% in 2026 compared to average enrollment in 2025.

Moreover, at least six insurers have confirmed that they will leave the ACA Marketplaces during 2027, including Cigna Health, CareSource, PacificSource, Baylor Scott and White, Providence Health and Mending, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

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