A report released Tuesday by KFF, a health policy research organization, shows the affordability crisis is about to get worse for many people whose health insurance comes from the Affordable Care Act.
KFF’s analysis projects that higher premiums will cause millions more people to lose insurance this year, according to a report from The Washington Post.
According to the KFF’s report, average deductibles for policyholders are now the highest ever, a result of people switching to the exchange’s cheapest “bronze plans” in response to premium hikes.
With greater migration to bronze plans, the average deductible for ACA recipients rose more than $1,000 a year, to $3,786, the KFF analysis found.
The Post report said people are losing health coverage for two reasons: Premium increases prevented some from signing up during last year’s open enrollment period, and millions who did sign up can no longer afford the premiums and will lose coverage for failing to pay.
With premiums rising as much as 100% for some, about 1 million people opted out of coverage for 2026 during last year’s open enrollment period, according to The Post. The KFF analysis says attrition for failing to pay could grow throughout the year by up to 4 million more.
In all, active enrollment could fall from 22.3 million in 2025 to about 17.5 million in 2026, KFF said, citing a report by Wakely Consulting Group.
“Some people dropped coverage altogether, other people are paying the higher premiums to keep their plans, and other people are dropping down to a plan that is kind of bare bones and has a high deductible,” Cynthia Cox, a KFF vice president and the director of KFF’s program on the ACA, told The Post. “The combination of all that is people are experiencing big cost increases,” she said.
