Obamacare Premiums Jump 13% for 2027 as Open Enrollment Begins Sunday

Obamacare shoppers are facing another double-digit price hike, with benchmark premiums for 2027 rising 13% on average as open enrollment begins Sunday.

The figure comes from a new analysis by health research group KFF, which tracked finalized premiums for benchmark silver plans. The increase follows a 26% jump from 2025 to 2026.

Taken together, benchmark silver premiums have climbed about 42% on average since 2025, according to KFF.

KFF’s calculation drew partly on new rate data the Trump administration released Friday for the 30 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace, The Hill reported.

The increases are not spread evenly. Benchmark premiums in HealthCare.gov states are rising 11%, while states that run their own enrollment websites are seeing average increases of 16%.

Insurers had proposed a median increase of 15% for 2027, so the final numbers came in slightly lower than their initial filings.

Rising medical costs are a broad problem. The Hill reported that premiums for federal employee plans and employer coverage are also expected to rise about 10% next year.

Who Gets Hit Hardest

Most marketplace enrollees receive federal subsidies that will soften the blow. But people earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level no longer qualify for premium tax credits and must pay the full price.

Those middle-income buyers lost their help when the enhanced premium tax credits created during the pandemic expired at the end of 2025. Congress did not extend them.

KFF estimated that the expiration of the enhanced credits added about four percentage points to premiums, as healthier customers dropped coverage and left insurers with a costlier pool.

Enrollment is already falling. Paid marketplace enrollment stood at 19.2 million in February 2026, down 12%, or 2.6 million people, from a year earlier, KFF found.

The Congressional Budget Office projects marketplace enrollment will fall from 22.4 million in 2025 to 13.1 million in 2027.

Shoppers may also find fewer choices. Eleven insurers have announced plans to leave at least one state for 2027, while seven plan to enter a new one. Cigna is exiting all 11 of its marketplace states.

Federal anti-fraud efforts are also reshaping the market. The Department of Health and Human Services said it canceled coverage for about 760,000 people it called “phantom” enrollees.

Eligibility rules are tightening, too. Some lawfully present immigrants, including refugees and asylees, are no longer eligible for premium tax credits under the new rules.

Enrollees should estimate their income carefully. Limits on how much excess tax credit people must repay at tax time have been eliminated, so underestimating income could mean a large bill next spring.

Shoppers who are automatically renewed into the same plan could see a steep increase without realizing it, making it worth comparing options on the marketplace before choosing coverage for 2027.

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