Last week, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress passed the largest health care cuts in history, slashing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in order to fund tax breaks for the billionaires and big corporations. Their Big Ugly Bill rips health care coverage away from 17 million Americans and eliminates tax credits that lower premiums for middle-class Americans. As a result, 24 million Americans will see their premiums skyrocket, doubling on average for 22 million, while millions more are priced out of coverage completely. While working families face up to a 90 percent increase in health care costs, the ultra-wealthy will get another huge tax break.
Idaho Capital Sun: Thousands of Idahoans Could Lose Health Care Coverage Under Federal Spending Bill
- “The enhanced credits are slated to expire this year, and if Congress does not extend them, many people would see their premiums ‘skyrocket,’ Riley said… An estimate by Idaho Voices for Children shows an Idaho couple in their 60s, making $82,000 a year, would see their annual premiums rise from $6,970 to over $22,222. ‘With that high premium cost, we’re going to see people drop off because they’re just not going to be able to afford coverage,’ Riley said.”
Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: If Enhanced Premium Tax Credit Expires, Health Insurance Premiums Could Double
- “But that tax credit is set to expire at the end of this year. Through proposed legislation, some lawmakers are suggesting that letting the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit expire is a good thing. And Congress has yet to act. If lawmakers don’t extend it, premiums will skyrocket — including mine — and many of us will have to make dramatic decisions affecting our health and longevity… Over 24 million Americans are enrolled in marketplace coverage, and almost all of them receive the tax credit. If it’s allowed to expire, 1.7 million people with chronic health conditions could lose their coverage entirely.”
Medical Marketing and Media: States Brace for Reversal of Obamacare Coverage Gains Under Trump’s Budget Bill
- “Without an extension of those subsidies, which have been an important driver of Obamacare enrollment in recent years, premiums are expected to rise 75% on average next year. That’s starting to happen already, based on some early state rate requests for next year, which are hitting double digits. ‘We estimate a minimum 30% enrollment loss, and, in the worst-case scenario, a 50% loss,’ said Devon Trolley, executive director of Pennie, the ACA marketplace in Pennsylvania, which had 496,661 enrollees this year, a record.”
Florida Politics: Poll: Majority of Republicans, MAGA Supporters Want Congress to Extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits for Health Care
- “With more than 4 million people relying on the marketplace for health care coverage, Florida has the highest proportion in the nation of residents enrolled. The enhanced premium tax credits are key to making the coverage both accessible and affordable… If Congress does not act, the Congressional Budget Office expects nearly 2 million Floridians will be without health care by 2034. When the KFF Health survey informed participants that roughly 4 million Americans will lose health insurance if the tax credits expired, support increased, especially among Republicans and MAGA supporters.”
Go Local Prov: RI Health Insurance Companies Requesting Rate Increases of 20% to 28%
- “On Friday, the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) released the individual, small group, and large group market premium rates requested by Rhode Island’s insurers. The rate increases are almost all over 20%, and for individual buyers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI is asking for a 28% increase. The potential rate increases are a blow to Rhode Islanders and businesses.”
WBSM: Massachusetts Could See Significant Health Insurance Rate Hike
- “According to State House News Service, hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents could face ‘significantly higher health insurance premiums’ next year. SHNS reported the increase would ‘add another crushing weight to employers and residents already struggling to manage high costs…’ In a statement to SHNS, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said, ‘Health care costs, as reflected in the proposed rates filed by health insurers, are simply unsustainable…’ The proposed rate increases could impact more than 720,000 people.”
The Minnesota Star Tribune: Health Insurers Propose Hiking Minnesota Prices Between 9% and 26%
- “The four largest carriers in the state’s individual health insurance market are seeking double-digit percentage rate increases for 2026, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce… ‘They are the largest proposed rate increases we’ve seen, on average, since 2017,’ Julia Dreier, deputy commissioner of insurance at the Commerce Department, said in an interview… Minnesota estimates that, without the enhancements, about 19,000 people in the state’s individual market will lose all access to financial help, while thousands more will see some reduction in assistance.”
Boston Globe: Editorial: Health Insurance 13.4% Rate Hike is Unaffordable
- “Eight commercial health insurers, who sell insurance to Massachusetts individuals and small businesses in the ‘merged market,’ submitted their proposed rates for 2026 that call for an average rate increase of a whopping 13.4 percent, according to the Division of Insurance. In comparison, in 2024 and 2025, insurers in that segment of the market proposed rate increases of 5.3 percent and 8.4 percent. State regulators ended up approving slightly lower increases.”
KSTP: Thousands Potentially Facing Increase to Health Insurance Rates
- “Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans could see health insurance costs rise in 2026 because of federal policy changes and rising costs… The state Department of Commerce said in a statement on their website that thousands of families, small business owners and farmers across Minnesota may have to pay an average of $200 more every month for coverage. The state agency says provisions in federal reconciliation bills, if passed, will get rid of financial help that reduces monthly premium costs.”
Times Herald-Record: Republican Bill Could Cause Health Insurance Costs in New York to Spike 38%
- “Scores of low-income New Yorkers relying upon key health insurance plans would see double-digit premium rate hikes under the Republican tax and domestic policy bill being debated in Congress, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday… If the current version of the federal bill gets approved, average monthly health insurance costs for 140,000 New Yorkers currently relying on a state-run marketplace health plan would spike 38% for a couple, or about $228, Hochul said, citing state analysis of the bill.”
WCAX: Health Regulators Approve 13.7% BCBS Health Insurance Large Group Rate Hike
- “The Green Mountain Care board has approved a 13.7 percent health insurance increase for large employers with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. The double-digit increase will impact companies with more than 100 employees… ‘There will be some radical changes ot our health care system, and I think we should be expecting that, and it’s not going to be, it’s not going to be pretty,’ said Rep. Alyssa Black, D-Essex.”
CBS News: The Price You Pay for an Obamacare Plan Could Surge Next Year
- “Without enhanced subsidies, Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would rise by more than 75% on average, with bills for people in some states more than doubling, according to estimates from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Florida and Texas would be hit especially hard, as they have more people enrolled in the marketplace than other states. Some of their congressional districts alone, especially in South Florida, have more people signed up for Obamacare than entire states.”