Millions of Americans are now without health insurance after lawmakers allowed enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans to lapse, a study released Thursday indicates.
Approximately 10% of those who were enrolled in an ACA plan last year have lost their coverage, translating to around 2 million individuals, according to surveys conducted by the nonprofit health care research organization KFF.
“The prices are simply too high,” lamented a 34-year-old man from Texas who dropped his coverage, noting that his premiums would have reached $800 monthly for himself and his partner. “I don’t think we could afford our mortgage if I had to pay for health insurance.”
Among those who managed to reenroll in the ACA marketplace, a staggering 80% reported increases in their premiums, deductibles, or co-pays compared to last year. Nearly half of these enrollees described their costs as “a lot higher.”
Many returning enrollees are already making sacrifices, with a majority indicating they will cut back on food and essential household items to manage their ACA plan expenses this year.
This trend aligns with recent findings that show over 80 million Americans—about one-third of the population—are making daily compromises to afford health care. These compromises include rationing prescriptions, borrowing money, skipping meals, reducing driving, and cutting back on utilities.
The Congressional Budget Office projected that the end of the subsidies would lead to more than 2 million people becoming uninsured this year, a figure consistent with KFF's findings.
Initially expanded in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan, these subsidies aimed to merge pandemic response efforts with an enhanced social safety net. The legislation removed an income phaseout threshold from the ACA that limited premium tax credits to individuals earning below 400% of the federal poverty line.
The expanded subsidies significantly boosted enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace, which surged from fewer than 10 million participants in 2021 to approximately 22 million last year. However, this expansion was temporary.
As the expiration of these subsidies approached last fall, Democrats insisted on including an extension in government funding legislation, leading to a six-week government shutdown when Republicans refused to negotiate.
Key Republican figures, including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), stood firm against any extension. Meanwhile, a faction of moderate Senate Democrats ultimately conceded in exchange for a failed vote to prolong the extra subsidies.
Some moderate and populist Republicans diverged from party lines, arguing that allowing the health insurance subsidies to expire would be politically detrimental.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has since exited Congress, expressed her concerns: “When the tax credits expire this year, my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.”
