Obamacare and Medicare enrollment signage during an “Autumn Alive” community celebration in downtown Quakertown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 17, 2026. <\/p>\n
Michael Nagle\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Health care coverage in some states is going to get slightly more affordable in 2027.<\/p>\n
At least 11 states are providing funding<\/a> to Obamacare enrollees to reduce their monthly insurance premiums, which qualifying enrollees should see when they sign up for coverage this open enrollment season<\/a>. <\/p>\n The move follows a lapse of enhanced federal premium subsidies<\/a> in 2025 that drove up costs for millions of people who buy health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The states include California<\/a>, Colorado<\/a>, Connecticut<\/a>, Maryland<\/a>, Massachusetts<\/a>, New Mexico<\/a>, New Jersey<\/a>, Rhode Island<\/a>, Vermont<\/a>, Virginia<\/a> and Washington state<\/a>. <\/p>\n Most of the states are continuing policies they put in place for 2026, in the aftermath of the loss of the federal subsidies. But Rhode Island and Virginia are debuting their respective programs for 2027, while other states like California expanded eligibility to additional consumers. <\/p>\n Health policy experts said the state funding could help prevent more consumers from dropping their insurance coverage<\/a>, following a significant drop decline this year. It also comes amid a broader affordability crunch<\/a> for U.S. households, which voters cited as a top issue<\/a> in the recent midterm elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While enhanced federal premium subsidies lapsed at the end of 2025, there’s still a tranche of federal subsidies \u2014 known as premium tax credits \u2014 that remain in place. The funding offered by these 11 states comes on top of any federal subsidies consumers may receive. <\/p>\n The amount of financial assistance varies by state, and each state has different eligibility criteria. Many target their programs at lower-income consumers, experts said. <\/p>\n “This was an effort to make coverage more affordable again” for some people, said Louise Norris, a health policy analyst for insurance referral site healthinsurance.org. “It can certainly be significant if you qualify for the help your state provides.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The states offering additional premium assistance operate state-based health insurance marketplaces rather than HealthCare.gov. They’re also largely Democratic-leaning states, health policy experts said.<\/p>\n Most offered premium assistance to state residents in 2026. However, Rhode Island and Virginia are new to the list for 2027.<\/p>\n In many of the states, officials said the move to offer state-funded premium assistance is a direct response to the lapse of enhanced ACA premium subsidies<\/a> at the end of 2025. <\/p>\n After the lapse of the enhanced subsidies \u2014 which had been in effect since 2021 and helped push ACA enrollment to record highs \u2014 Obamacare premiums increased by an average of 58%, to $178 per month on average in 2026 from $113 per month the prior year, according<\/a> to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.<\/p>\n Democrats pushed to renew the enhanced premium subsidies \u2014 the crux of a government shutdown in 2025<\/a> that lasted more than a month \u2014 but the Republican-led Congress opted not to extend them<\/a>. <\/p>\n ACA enrollment fell to 19.2 million as of February 2026, a 13% decline from 22.1 million in February 2025, according to figures<\/a> published in June by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. <\/p>\n Evidence suggests enrollment has fallen further since then, according<\/a> to a KFF analysis. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Health policy experts largely attribute the decline to the expiration of enhanced subsidies, since the lapse pushed up costs for consumers. <\/p>\n “Where Congress has failed, Colorado is stepping up,” Gov. Jared Polis said<\/a> in September in a press release discussing insurance premium assistance. “Despite the loss of the enhanced premium tax credits, we are doing everything we can to keep health insurance prices down so Coloradans can afford access to health care.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico, speaks during a New Mexico Democrats rally on Nov. 3, 2022. <\/p>\n Adria Malcolm\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Not all consumers enrolled in an ACA marketplace health plan will be eligible for their state’s financial assistance. <\/p>\n Of all the states, New Mexico is the only one that is fully replacing the enhanced federal premium subsidies for ACA enrollees in the state in 2027, extending a policy in place for 2026, according to health policy experts. <\/p>\n While ACA enrollment declined nationally in 2026, New Mexico was the only state to see an increase in its enrollment figures, growing 14% between 2025 and 2026, according<\/a> to KFF.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some states allocated more funding to their premium assistance programs for 2027 relative to 2026.<\/p>\n In California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and the California Legislature increased the amount of state funds available for the Covered California State Subsidy Program to $300 million in 2027 from $190 million in 2026, according to a press release<\/a> on the state’s health insurance marketplace.<\/p>\n Californians with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level<\/a> in 2027 \u2014 $31,920 for an individual or $66,000 for a family of four \u2014 will be eligible for a state premium subsidy. In 2026, those subsidies are available for households with incomes up to 165% of the federal poverty line<\/a>. <\/p>\n As a result of the eligibility expansion, an additional 200,000 will be eligible for financial help who weren’t eligible in 2026, Covered California, the state marketplace, said in a press release<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the media as he attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2026. <\/p>\n Denis Balibouse | Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Massachusetts also increased its investment in financial assistance for ACA enrollees to $620 million in 2027 from $600 million this year \u2014 the largest state investment in the country, state officials said in October<\/a>.<\/p>\n The value of state assistance can be modest for some consumers, depending on factors like their income and monthly premiums, health policy experts said. <\/p>\n For example, in Washington state, ACA enrollees with an income up to 200% of the federal poverty line and who receive a federal subsidy can get a state-funded subsidy of up to $35 per month<\/a>. Those with an income between 201% and 250% of the poverty line can get up to $20 per month. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Whether states will be able to continue to provide funding for these programs really depends on these states’ budgets.<\/p>\n Louise Norris<\/p>\n health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n That said, states that offer premium subsidies saw a lower decline in ACA marketplace enrollment than in states that didn’t offer any financial assistance, experts said. <\/p>\n “We saw that states in 2026 that did offer assistance had smaller declines in enrollment,” said Justin Lo, a senior researcher at KFF who specializes in the Affordable Care Act. “If the previous pattern continues, we will also see possibly better enrollment retention in states that are more generous with their subsidies.”<\/p>\n It’s not a guarantee states will be able to continue funding these subsidies into the future, experts said. <\/p>\n “Funding is obviously the crux of the issue,” said Norris, of healthinsurance.org. “Whether states will be able to continue to provide funding for these programs really depends on these states’ budgets.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nRead more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
States respond to lapse of enhanced ACA premium subsidies<\/h2>\n
Some states increase funding<\/h2>\n
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