Americans have rung in the new year and millions of families are already feeling the sting of sky-high health care premiums. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have ripped away tax credits from over 21 million Americans, causing premiums to double, triple, or even quadruple. Now people across the country, including small business owners, farmers, and hard-working parents, are grappling with impossible choices: keep their health coverage or pay the bills. Randall from Ohio said the price hikes “blindsided” his family, meaning they couldn’t pay the electric bill or get groceries for Christmas. Tim from Michigan has a brain tumor and debated going uninsured til August, when he can get Medicaid coverage, but his wife worries he wouldn’t make it until then. Mary Jo and William from Pennsylvania got remarried – not because they fell back in love, but so Mary Jo could get coverage from William’s plan.
The following 28 accounts — along with the over 100 collected testimonies — come from hard-working Americans that the GOP have left in the dust to fund tax breaks for their billionaire friends.
California
Renee Rubin Ross
- “‘I don’t even know how to get my mind around it. It’s the opposite of affordable,’ said Dr. Ross, who relies on Obamacare to cover her family of four in California. Staying on the same plan for 2026 will cost about $4,000 a month, $2,700 more than the roughly $1,300 per month she had been paying.”
- “Dr. Ross said she and her family were ‘standing by and seeing what is going to happen.’ But the idea of paying nearly $50,000 a year for health insurance is daunting, even if she can find a way to pay for it. ‘We’re truly in shock,’ she said.” [New York Times]
Maddie Bannister
- “The California mother, who just had her second child, was paying $124 a month for her family of three in 2025. Now, with a new baby and no ACA subsidies, she is preparing to pay $908 a month.”
- “‘So many people are going to choose to be uninsured because it’s cheaper to pay a penalty for being uninsured than it is to have healthcare,’ she said.”
- “For Ms Bannister’s family, the increased cost of healthcare means putting off other spending: ‘We were saving for a home, and saving money for that is going to take way longer if we have to spend $11,000 a year on healthcare that we barely use.’” [BBC]
Florida
Saray Pérez
- “She and her husband, who had been paying nothing for MyFlorida Blue insurance, will now have to pay $70 per month each starting in 2026, a significant sum for the stylist, just a year after starting a beauty and hair care company in Florida. It may seem small at first glance, but it amounts to over $1,600 a year for the couple, which, amid a cost-of-living crisis, can be decisive.”
- “‘The news took us by surprise and, like many families, caused us concern,’ says Pérez, a 37-year-old from Cuba. ‘It might seem like a small amount to some, but when we’re talking about families living paycheck to paycheck or entrepreneurs, as is my case, every new expense has an impact. It’s not just the amount; it’s the buildup of responsibilities that often go unseen. However, more than frustration, what I felt was the need to understand why and to approach it consciously.’” [El País]
James Davitt, Jacksonville
- “‘We’re all having to make hard, if not impossible choices about how to care for our families,’ said Davitt.”
- “Davitt says seeing those numbers was overwhelming. ‘Stunned at first, I think the next follow-up reaction is automatically fear, because what are we gonna do to take care of our family?’ he said. Ultimately, his family had to make a hard choice. ‘The only answer for us was to literally not be insured. So, as of January 1st of this year, my family of four is not insured,’ Davitt said.” [First Coast News]
Georgia
Angelia Hoomes, 63, Macon
- “Her pain has improved since she had her first back surgery in October. But when Hoomes started making plans to schedule her second surgery, she faced a new anxiety: She had to make sure that the procedure would occur before the end of December. ‘They kind of squeezed me in on the last surgical day of the year for that particular doctor, because with everything up in the air, I was just terrified to let my surgical window go into the new year,’ said Hoomes.”
- She said that she could choose between a plan that costs around $1,100 per month or one that is $1,300. She will opt for the cheaper plan but will need to use her monthly Social Security payment—also around $1,100—to cover the cost.‘There won’t be much eating out in my future, I can say that, but it’s just going to have to come from somewhere. No vacations, no new clothes, no new shoes. Just make do with what I’ve got,’ said Hoomes, who is also a type 2 diabetic. She has a vegetable garden that she is hoping will help supplement her diet, and plans to barter fresh produce to obtain eggs from a neighbor with chickens.” [The New Republic]
Illinois
Eleanor Walsh, 63, St. John
- “Eleanor Walsh and her husband will see an increase of approximately $14,300 in their health insurance in 2026 as the Affordable Care Act subsidies sunset.”
- “‘We’re going through every expense we have,’ Walsh said. ‘It’s going to be a rough year.’” [Chicago Tribune]
Iowa
Lori Hunt, Des Moines
- “‘I’d have to cancel my insurance,’ Hunt said, joking that her insurance would consist of ‘thoughts and prayers.’ Hunt survived breast cancer three years ago and was laid off from her job in 2025. Without the subsidies, she expected her ACA premium would jump to about $700 per month. ‘It would be more than my mortgage payment,’ Hunt said.” [CBS]
Meghan, 42, and John Palmer, 45
- “But going uninsured is not an option for the Palmers. During their first year of marriage, the couple recalled being uninsured and having to pay out-of-pocket for two unexpected health crises: Palmer had an appendectomy, and her husband John needed stitches after getting kicked in the face by one of his cows. ‘It was stupid of us,’ said Palmer of the decision to forgo coverage.”
- “Palmer has started to search for an off-farm job, though she anticipates that whatever she earns will mostly pay for additional insurance costs and there will be little left over. In addition, her absence would create a greater burden for her husband, which worries her. ‘John is working exhausted most of the time,’ she said. ‘That’s when mistakes get made and you end up in the ER.’” [NPR]
Kansas
Dawn Wheeler
- “Dawn Wheeler, who is approaching her ninth year of chemotherapy treatment, saw her monthly premium jump from $69 to $272 after the enhanced subsidies ended. ‘That adds up to thousands more dollars a year, and a lot of that we have to come up with like right away,’ Wheeler said.”
- “‘Our self-employment went way, way, way down,’ Wheeler said. ‘My husband had to find a job. We had to use our finances to stay in our house. What savings we had went to that.’ She is now hoping to work out payment plans with her specialists to afford her ongoing care. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do it,’ Wheeler said.”
- “For Wheeler, it’s an unclear path ahead. ‘We’re just trying to move forward,’ she said.”[KSHB]
Sydney Macha
- “Macha relies on prescriptions, doctors, and treatments for chronic migraines and a connective tissue disorder. ‘It’s still unaffordable as a person trying to just still work,’ Macha said.” [KSHB]
Louisiana
James Davis, 55
- “James Davis, 55, who grows cotton, soybeans and corn in north Louisiana, said he doesn’t know how he and his wife will afford coverage next year, when their insurance premium will quadruple, jumping to about $2,700 a month. ‘You can’t afford it. Bottom line, there’s nothing to discuss. You can’t afford it without the subsidies,’ Davis said.” [NPR]
Michigan
Rebecca Perrin, Wyoming
- “When Rebecca Perrin looked at her options for healthcare this year, she was stunned. ‘My jaw was on the floor,’ said Perrin. “I was like, ‘This is outrageous. Who can afford this?’’”
- “Other, more affordable plans weren’t accepted by her doctor. That’s why she believes her only option is to go without health insurance. ‘I work full-time,’ said Perrin. ‘I’m actually looking for a second job, and then I fear I’m gonna burn out and end up with a hospital bill. It just seems like a lose-lose.’”
- “‘We need to fix this now,’ she said. ‘What if I have to have surgery? What if I break a bone? What if I need a specialist of some kind? It’s scary. It makes you not want to leave your house.’” [WZZM]
Tim and Gina Abbas
- “For Tim Abbas, the Affordable Care Act insurance plan has been more than just coverage — it’s been a lifeline. When his brain tumor progressed to grade four, the plan allowed him to access a crucial clinical trial at an out-of-state hospital.”
- “‘We can’t afford the insurance anymore that lets us go there,” said Gina Abbas, Tim’s wife. “Life-saving care for my husband is top of mind, and it’s really, really hard.’”
- “Tim, a former schoolteacher, will now switch to his wife’s insurance plan, but this comes with its own challenges — the hospital running his clinical trial is out of network, leading to higher costs the family cannot afford.”
- “‘(Tim) said, ‘What if I just stop getting care?’ He eventually will be on Medicare, but that’s not until August. He’s like, ‘I’ll just wait until August.’ (Tim) can’t do that. He won’t be alive,’ Gina said. She said other people in their support groups and in the cancer community are all having to make really difficult decisions. ‘Sometimes it’s a choice between being able to pay your mortgage or keep your loved one alive,’ Gina said.” [ClickOn Detroit]
Missouri
Brandi Fischer
- “‘Family with two kids, knowing that you have health insurance and not going uninsured is a huge relief,’ Fischer said. With the subsidies gone in 2026, Fischer and her family have to downgrade to the Affordable Care Act’s basic plan to avoid hundreds more in new fees. ‘What that means for us is we’ll be thinking twice before doing something beyond basic preventative care,’ Fischer said. ‘Seeing a specialist or mental health, or physical therapy, we would probably put off.’” [KCTV]
New Jersey
Eric Frankenfelds
- “When patients come to Eric Frankenfeld’s chiropractic practice with insurance woes, his wife, Lisa, the office manager, tells them not to worry because she’ll work with them to keep care affordable.”
- “But starting in January, the Frankenfelds might need to ask for the same treatment from their own doctors, since they will become uninsured. The Point Pleasant, New Jersey, couple will no longer be able to afford their Obamacare plan after the enhanced premiums subsidies lapse at year’s end. They decided to forgo coverage after learning that their plan’s premium will skyrocket to $1,928 a month, up from $340 this year.”
- “‘We are health care providers who cannot afford benefits. Oh, the irony,’ she told CNN. ‘Purchasing a plan doesn’t make financial sense. We’re just going to cross our fingers and hope for the best.’” [CNN]
New York
Jeff, New York City
- “Jeff , a freelance musician from New York City who earns so little that he did not have to pay a premium this year and last year, waited until mid-December to sign onto his state’s exchange. When he saw the cheapest plan for 2026 would cost him $275 a month, he closed his laptop since he knew he couldn’t afford it and would become uninsured. Instead, he went back to searching for a gig to replace one he just lost.”
- “‘We can find money to build an arch and a ballroom that are completely unnecessary and tax cuts for billionaires,’ he said, referencing President Donald Trump’s construction plans and the GOP domestic agenda package that passed this summer. ‘But we can’t insure people medically in this country. It’s unconscionable.’” [CNN]
Jeremy Koulish, Modina
- “The cost of his current plan is set to jump from less than $400 a month to $1,600 a month. Because he has no income, he has now enrolled in Medicaid for next year while he seeks employment. ‘I’ll take what I can get at this point, whether it’s three months, six months—unfortunately, I think that might get me off of Medicaid without offering me a great alternative, so I’m stuck with the $1,600 plan anyway, or just a much weaker plan with higher deductibles,’ said Koulish.” [The New Republic]
North Carolina
Kai Schmoll, 60, Asheville
- “The loss of the more generous subsidies has led Kai Schmoll, a 60-year-old who owns an event staffing business in Asheville, N.C., to decide to limit how much money he makes, something that runs contrary to his instincts as a successful small business owner. ‘It’s what I have to do,’ he said.”
- “‘It was a decision I had to make,’ Mr. Schmoll said. He added, ‘I wasn’t thrilled about curbing my income.’ But as someone who previously had cancer, he said, he felt he could not go without coverage. ‘God forbid something were ever to show up,’ he said. ‘I would be devastated without insurance.’” [New York Times]
Ohio
Randall Schneider, Calcutta
- “‘We couldn’t pay our electric bill, we couldn’t get our groceries for Christmas, it blindsided us,’ he said. Schneider received a liver and double kidney transplant two and a half years ago which forced him to medically retire. He is cared for by his wife Kimberly Schneider who claims she does not have her own health insurance to afford her husband’s healthcare policy. ‘I’m just praying nothing comes up, it’s that everything we’ve had has just been keeping him healthy,’ she said.” [WFMJ]
Oregon
Kate, 58, and Mark Dwyer, 60
- “The cheapest option they could find for themselves for 2026 would cost about $2,000 a month. The couple decided to keep Mr. Dwyer’s insurance but cancel his wife’s coverage. Their ‘weird calculus,’ as Ms. Dwyer described it, was that she would have more warning if she were to need care because his family has a history of heart disease.” [New York Times]
Pennsylvania
Tori Baggot, Pittsburgh
- “Because she has a hypermobility spectrum disorder, which affects connective tissues in the body, Baggot requires a team of specialists for care. ‘I’m choosing to take the bigger hit of the premium increase instead of changing my plan, because the specialists I have, I’ve been working with them for over a year now,’ she said. ‘Just the idea of trying to find a new team of people, even if it would save me, like, I don’t know, $100, is crazy.’”
- “It also impedes her and her husband’s considerations about starting a family. Baggot is grateful that she has no employees; as a small-business owner, her biggest expense will soon be the cost of her own health care.”
- “‘The scariest part is I have no idea where the money is going to come from,’ Baggot said.” [The New Republic]
Mary Jo Armstrong and William
- “Mary Jo Armstrong and her ex-husband, William, didn’t exactly remarry for love. They remarried for health insurance.”
- “The reason for remarrying, however, was anything but playful: Mary Jo’s monthly health insurance premiums were about to skyrocket from $350 to $1,400 — almost 50% of her monthly income, and it was the best solution they could muster.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Texas
Adrienne Martin, 47
- “The 47-year-old Texas mother had to make a difficult choice when she found out her monthly healthcare premium was increasing in 2026 from what she described as a manageable $630 (£467) to an unaffordable $2,400 (£1,781).”
- “Her husband depends on an IV medication to treat a blood-clotting disease that costs $70,000 a month without insurance. Knowing their benefits would expire, the family stockpiled the drug to survive the first few months of the year.”
- “‘It would be like paying two mortgage payments,’ she said of the new monthly price for healthcare. ‘We can’t pay $30,000 for insurance a year.’” [BBC]
Vermont
Kathy and Jeffrey Many, Brandon
- “Increasingly squeezed by the rising cost of electricity, groceries, personal and business insurance and supplies for their garage door installation and repair company, Kathy and Jeffrey Many of Brandon, Vermont, decided not to renew their Affordable Care Act coverage for 2026. The premium for their plan is shooting up to nearly $2,670 a month, from $625 this year. The cheapest one they could find is nearly $1,870 a month.”
- “‘Every time Jeffrey leaves to go out on a job, I’m going to be like Jesus Christ, I hope nothing happens to him today,’ said Many, 61, her voice breaking, ‘because everything that I’ve worked my whole life for could be lost to bankruptcy.’” [CNN]
Wisconsin
Mike Ohlinger
- “‘Health care has been an extraordinary hurdle that we’ve had to overcome as a business, and it’s one that we really still haven’t been able to address in the way that we’d like to,’ he explained. Ohlinger added that he and his wife explored multiple options with insurance brokers but were repeatedly told affordable plans weren’t realistic for a small operation. He said the company has struggled to attract workers who want and need employer-based insurance.”
- “‘For myself and my two daughters, we’re paying close to our mortgage in premiums each month. And that’s before, you know, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs,’ he continued.” [Wisconsin Independent]
Kat Becker, Marathon County
- “Becker employs just three to six people depending on the season. Last year she paid $4,000 for health insurance for her employees. But now with the expiring tax credits she’s projected to pay between $7,000 to $8,000 in 2026. ‘We have to put aside extra money for insurance because the costs have gone up,’ Becker said. ‘But the more money we put aside to cover health care the more income it shows, which means our health care is more expensive.’”
- “‘I think it’s bad for the economy,’ Becker said. ‘Instability is bad for small businesses and small businesses are really the engine of small communities and the growth of the economy.’” [WJFW]
Wyoming
Stacy Newton, 51, Teton County
- “To continue health coverage for themselves and their two teenage children, the Newtons would have to pay an annual premium of $43,000 — about a third of their gross income. It is the price of the cheapest plan available to the family from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming, the only ACA insurer left in Teton County.”
- “At the same time, they know they will need medical care: Last year, Newton, 51, was diagnosed with chronic leukemia. ‘It’s terrifying,’ she said. ‘We’re not rich, we’re not poor. We’re a standard, middle-class family, and somehow now I can’t afford health insurance.’”
- “Eventually, Newton knows, she will need leukemia treatment. She’s just not sure when. ‘If my leukemia acts up, I’m up a creek,’ she said this month. ‘I just don’t have a solution yet.’ On Monday, she sent a text. ‘I just officially canceled my ACA marketplace insurance for 2026,’ she wrote. ‘How on Earth is this going to unfold for millions of people in America?’” [Washington Post]
Margie Lynch, 58
- “‘I don’t worry about being bitten by a bear, I worry about getting cancer.’ … For the cheapest Obamacare plan, she would have to pay $1,585 a month. Its benefits would not kick in until she paid a deductible of $10,600. ‘The cost of the premium is almost as much as my mortgage,’ Lynch said. ‘I’m lucky enough to be able to pay for it if I have to. But there are so many people out there who won’t be able to.’” [Washington Post]