July 19, 2025
A permanent extension would have cost $335 billion over the next 10 years but was left out of the policy law section of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Research indicates that insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are likely to go up by 75% in 2026, unless Congress steps in and does something about it, NPR reports.
Data from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group, found that the subsidies the Biden administration had dramatically decreased the cost of will be nonexistent in 2026, as the cost of premiums is expected to increase. Policyholders who were once paying $60 a month for their health insurance will be looking at a $105 monthly payment next year. Researcher Cynthia Cox points the finger at insurance companies for focusing more on federal policy instead of the rising costs of prescription drugs or hospital charges. “These filings are usually hundreds of pages filled with math and equations,” Cox explains.
“But sometimes they also add this narrative to explain why they’re raising their premiums. Pretty much every insurance company is talking about the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits in the ACA markets.”
The ACA marketplace — also known as Obamacare — is where a majority of people who don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare or who aren’t insured through their employers go for affordable health insurance. The popular system hit a record level of enrollment with 24 million in January 2025, resulting in the uninsured rate reaching its lowest level ever.
However, for things to remain constant, it will take Congress to extend the enhanced subsidies, meaning President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled House would have to support the platform created by former President Barack Obama. Highly unlikely, the Republican Study Committee’s 2025 fiscal budget felt enhanced subsidies “only perpetuate a never-ending cycle of rising premiums and federal bailouts, with taxpayers forced to foot the bill.”
In 2024, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) put pressure on Congress to reject the extension, claiming subsidies “hide the unsustainable skyrocketing cost of Obamacare.” But research shows there are a number of GOP-led states like Georgia and Texas that have “seen a tremendous amount of growth in their ACA marketplaces.”
According to CBS News, a permanent extension would have cost $335 billion over the next 10 years, but it was omitted from the policy law section of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” signed by Trump on Independence Day. While insurance brokers claim both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are looking for loopholes to avoid increases, insurance agencies are preparing for mass enrollment losses. “There will be sticker shock,” Josh Schultz, strategic engagement manager at Softheon, an insurance consulting firm, said.
An estimated 8.2 million people under ACA insurance will become uninsured if lawmakers don’t step in. Policyholders will learn about their new premium prices in late fall 2025, with ACA open enrollment beginning Nov. 1.
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