Headlines From National Outlets and 35 States
The Trump-GOP premium disaster is thwacking the nation — and headlines everywhere show that it is leaving few Americans unscathed. Small business owners, like Gladys from Nebraska, are bracing for the GOP quadrupling their 2026 health insurance premiums. Church and denominational staff, like Pastor Joe from Florida, are left in the lurch, wondering how to deal with Republicans tripling their premiums. Moms with exacting budgets, like Callie from Utah, cannot afford the GOP doubling their premiums, and are consequently making heart-wrenching decisions about how they approach parenting. From coast to coast, Republicans are hitting everyday people with astronomical, unaffordable health care hikes, and the ensuing affordability crisis is devastating millions.
Bellwether elections on November 4th demonstrated that everyday Americans are fed up with Trump and the GOP carving out tax breaks for billionaires while ripping away working people’s health care tax credits. If Republicans continue their march to make health care unaffordable for working families, they’ll certainly feel the sting at the ballot box next November. Until then, Protect Our Care’s Premium Disaster Watch will continue reminding the American people who is causing their shrinking coverage and skyrocketing premiums.
National Coverage
Harlem World Magazine: Small Businesses From Harlem to Hawaii Brace for Quadrupled Premiums Subsidies Expire
Business Insider: Even With the Government Open, Millions of Americans Could See Their Healthcare Costs Skyrocket
Baptist News Global: ACA Marketplace Increases Are Slamming Church Budgets
Fortune: U.S. Health Care Premium Spikes to Squeeze Main Street Businesses
KFF: Mapping the Uneven Burden of Rising ACA Marketplace Premium Payments due to Enhanced Tax Credit Expiration
The Mary Sue: ‘Endless Wishful Thinking’: 2 Months Left for ACA Premium Credits, and Mike Johnson Is Still Boasting About Having ‘Notebooks Full of Ideas’
Healthinsurance.org: ‘Subsidy Cliff’ Will Return in 2026 if Congress Doesn’t Act
The Washington Informer: Rise in Health Care Premium Prices Concerns Many D.C. Residents, Leaders
WTIP: Expiration of ACA Subsidies Could Double Premiums for Many
Alabama
Alabama Daily News: Alabamians Brace for Higher Premiums as Congress Has No Clear Plan to Extend Health Insurance Subsidies
Alaska
Anchorage Daily News: ‘Punishing Us’: Alaska Small-Business Owners Consider Next Steps Amid Steep Rises in Health Care Costs
Alaska’s News Source: Alaska Obamacare Costs Could Skyrocket Without Extension, Data Shows
Arizona
Cronkite News: ‘We’ll Likely Have to Sell Our House’: Skyrocketing Premiums at Heart of Shutdown Fight
KVOA: Some Southern Arizonans on Affordable Care Act Worry Premiums Could Dramatically Rise if Tax Credits Allowed to Expire
Azcentral: Some Arizonans Rethinking Obamacare Coverage Over 2026 Sticker Shock
California
ABC10: Californians Brace for Higher Health Insurance Costs as Pandemic-Era Subsidies Near Expiration
ABC7 San Francisco: Estimated 400K Californians Could Be ‘Priced Out’ of Covered CA if Congress Doesn’t Extend Funding
Colorado
KUNC: With No Deal on Health Care Subsidies, Coloradans Face Possibility of Going Without Insurance Next Year
Colorado Politics: Colorado Sends Notices to ACA Enrollees as Premiums Set to Double
Connecticut
NBC Connecticut: ACA Subsidy Uncertainty Impacts Health Insurance Enrollment in Connecticut
Florida
WFTV: Health Care Premiums Could More Than Double for Over 4 Million Floridians
Palm Beach Post: Obamacare Credits Broadened Number of Floridians Who Could Get Health Insurance. What Now?
Central Florida Public Media: Orlando Clinic Sounds Alarm for HIV Patients Facing Rising Insurance Costs
Georgia
GPB: Georgians Navigate New Health Care Costs as ACA Subsidies Hang in the Balance
Illinois
WBEZ: Two Families, Two Responses to Spiking Obamacare Costs: ‘We Can Live Only Maximum 10 More Years’
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Consumers Face High Health Insurance Prices, With Obamacare Subsidies Still in Limbo After Shutdown
Indiana
Purdue Exponent: Loss of Affordable Care Act Subsidies Could Substantially Impact Tippecanoe Residents
Kansas
KSHB 41 Kansas City: ‘We Built the City’: Olathe Retirees, Employees to Face Significant Health Insurance Premium Increases
Louisiana
NOLA: A Louisiana Family Paid $300 a Month for Health Insurance. Now It’s $2,000 as Aca Credits Expire
Maine
WMTW: “It’s Ridiculous.” Maine Cancer Patient Expects Insurance Premium to Triple
Massachusetts
MassLive.com: ‘Budget-Busting, Skyrocketing’: Some Mass. Residents Could See Health Insurance Premiums Rise by $25K in 2026
CBS News: More Than 300,000 in Massachusetts Could Pay More for Health Insurance if Federal Tax Credits Expire
Maryland
WUSA9: Millions Could See Health Insurance Costs Spike as ACA Tax Credits Set to Expire
Michigan
Detroit Free Press: 4 Insurers Dropping Obamacare in Michigan as Costs for Some Could Double or Triple
Missouri
STLPR: Missouri Customers Face Confusion, Price Hikes on Health Insurance Marketplace
KOMU 8: Nearly All Missouri Health Insurers Set to Raise Rates While Shutdown Deal Abandons ACA Credits
Minnesota
KARE11: Not Extending ACA Subsidies Could Impact Tens of Thousands of Minnesotans
Nevada
KSNV: Nevadans Caught in Crosshairs Over Future of ACA Subsidies
New Jersey
NorthJersey.com: Sticker Shock as NJ Health Insurance Costs Soar With Open Enrollment
New York
Spectrum News: State Health Commissioner Speaks Out on Insurance Rate Increases After Shutdown
North Carolina
Asheville Watchdog: “There’s No Way”: Huge ACA Premium Hikes Force Buncombe Policyholders to Make Hard Choices, Including Dropping Coverage
Watauga Democrat: Average ACA Premiums to Rise Nearly 29% in North Carolina
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Public Radio: In North Conway, Seniors and Families Share Concerns About Future of Their Health Insurance
Ohio
Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Health Insurance to Get Much More Costly Without Action to Renew Federal Credits
Oklahoma
News on 6: See How Health Insurance Premiums Could Rise for Oklahomans
Oregon
KVAL: Oregonians Could See Affordable Healthcare Premiums Go Up Around $1,000, Says Oha
Pennsylvania
KYW: Local Expert Warns of Sky-High Insurance Premiums if ACA Tax Credits Aren’t Renewed
WHYY: Pennsylvanians Scramble to Afford Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Price Hikes After No Subsidy Deal in Congress
South Carolina
WCIV: South Carolinians Face Steep Insurance Premium Hikes if ACA Tax Credits Expire
Tennesse
WTVC: Tennessee Health Insurance Premiums Set to Skyrocket as ACA Tax Credits Expire
WATE: Health Insurance Premiums Set to Rise for Many East Tennesseans in 2026
Texas
KEYE: Texans Brace for Potential Premium Hikes as ACA Tax Credits Face Expiration
Utah
KUER: Utah Mom Fears Health Care Hikes Will Turn Everyday Play Into Financial Risk
Vermont
Mountain Times: If Healthcare Tax Credits Expire, Vermonters Face Biggest Losses In The U.S.
Washignton
WJAR: Gov. Ferguson Talks Affordable Care Act Anxiety After Shutdown: ‘It Makes Me Sick Inside’
Kitsap Sun: ACA Subsidy Loss Would Cause Thousands on West Sound to Face Health Insurance Cost Hike
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Examiner: As Patients See Health Premiums Soar, Baldwin Continues Push for Extending Subsidies
Wyoming
KHOL: Some Wyomingites Are Seeing Healthcare Premiums Skyrocket. Here’s Why