Across the country, hard-working families continue to drop their Affordable Care Act coverage after Republicans ripped away health care tax credits to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Over 1 million Americans have dropped their coverage for 2026, but that number will keep climbing as more people realize they can’t afford the care they need. At a moment when voters say health care is their top concern, Congressional Republicans are making it even harder for families to get covered. Families are sitting at the dinner table, trying to make the math work, and staring down impossible choices: trim their already tight budgets to pay for sky-high premiums, downgrade to a plan that covers less with an unaffordable deductible, or go uninsured and hope they stay healthy. The solution is collecting dust on John Thune’s desk: a three-year clean extension of the current tax credits, supported by a bipartisan majority in the House, the Senate, and the American people.
CNN: Obamacare Enrollment Drops After Enhanced Premium Subsidies Expire
- “’That number does not tell the full story. These numbers are going to go dramatically down month after month as people decide that they can’t afford health care and stop paying their premiums,’ Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group, said in a statement.”
The Hill: ACA Enrollment Drops by 1M+ After Subsidies Expire
- “’These numbers are going to go dramatically down month after month as people decide that they can’t afford health care and stop paying their premiums,’ Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group, said in a statement, according to CNN.”
Politico: The Subsidy Saga Continues
- “State marketplaces, insurers and policy experts have for months warned that letting the subsidies lapse would lead to a drop in Obamacare enrollment and leave millions without health insurance, reversing massive coverage gains as the tax credits helped low- and middle-income Americans afford coverage with little-to-no premium payments.”
Reuters: Obamacare Enrollment Drops to About 23 Million People for 2026
- “Analysts said they expect the total enrollment to fall in coming months as Americans who were auto-enrolled fail to pay their premiums and are removed from coverage after three months. ‘Given the 90-day grace period, which should apply to the majority ACA members, we see potential for strong disenrollment activity during this period, leading to a lower final enrollment number,’ said Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson.”
Healthcare Dive: ACA Enrollment Backslides to 23M in 2026
- “Still, plan selection data doesn’t necessarily translate into actual paid enrollment. Some amount of ACA enrollees usually drop off throughout the year after they stop paying premiums — and more did so before enhanced tax credits for ACA plans were enacted in 2021.”
Straight Arrow News: More Than a Million Dropping Obamacare After Federal ACA Subsidies End
- “But industry insiders say this drop is only the beginning. They expect many more people to drop coverage as costs creep up this year. To keep up with costs, many enrollees are choosing lower-coverage plans than they did last year. State Affairs reports that 73% of enrollees in California who switched plans moved to a bronze plan, the lowest level of coverage.”
The Courier: 100K Fewer Ohioans Enrolled in ACA Plans
- “O’Rourke added that it also remains to be seen how many people who did re-enroll in ACA plans may cancel them within the next few months. Some plans may have auto-renewed, and when people realize their premiums have skyrocketed from last year and they can’t pay them, they may go without coverage, he said.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Arkansas Enrollment in Affordable Care Act Marketplace Plans Drops 4%
- “About 160,000 Arkansans opted for 2026 health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, according to figures released Wednesday, a 4% decline from the number enrolled last year.”