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Members of the National Guard patrol near the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
Al Drago | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Millions of Americans are bracing for a sharp increase<\/a> in their health insurance premiums next year as expiring enhanced subsidies trigger a \u201ccliff<\/a>\u201d on aid \u2014 and they are worried<\/a> about the financial stress tied to those extra costs.<\/p>\n Ashley Thompson of Austin, Texas, said she and her husband are weighing whether to drop their health coverage next year and insure only their two children to make the financials work.<\/p>\n Premiums for the family\u2019s current health plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace<\/a> could triple, to about $3,553 a month in 2026 from $1,200 this year, without the enhanced federal subsidies set to expire at year\u2019s end, based on marketplace estimates.<\/p>\n That expense, almost $43,000 a year, would account for roughly a third or more of their household income \u2014 and that\u2019s before even using the insurance, said Thompson, 49, who is a ceramic artist and physical trainer.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite frankly, it\u2019s terrifying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thompson and her family are among the 22 million Americans who receive enhanced subsidies that make health premiums cheaper. Overall, that group accounts for 92% of the 24 million people enrolled in an ACA marketplace plan.<\/p>\n The enhanced premium subsidies are at the epicenter of the political fight around the federal government shutdown<\/a>, now the longest in U.S. history.<\/p>\n Democrats are pushing to extend the subsidies as part of a deal to reopen the government, while Republicans have said they want to negotiate the subsidies separately.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday proposed a one-year extension<\/a> of the existing enhanced subsidies as part of a deal to reopen the government. The deal would also establish a bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on long-term reforms to address the issue of health-care affordability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n More than half, 57%, of ACA marketplace enrollees live in Republican congressional districts, according to a recent KFF analysis<\/a>. This year, about 80% of all premium tax credits, or $115 billion, went to ACA marketplace enrollees in states won by President Trump in last year\u2019s election, KFF found<\/a>.<\/p>\nHealth premiums poised to double \u2014 or more<\/h2>\n