Consumers who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will likely face double-digit rate hikes next year.
Insurers plan a median premium increase of 15% for 2026 plans, which would be the largest ACA insurance price hike since 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis published on July 18.
And many working-age consumers who get their health insurance through the workplace won't be spared, either. Benefits consultant Mercer said more than half of big employers expect to shift a larger share of insurance costs to employees and their families next year by raising deductibles, copays, or out-of-pocket requirements.
KFF said the ACA insurer cited factors such as medical cost inflation, the expiration of tax credits instituted during former President Joe Biden's administration that made plans cheaper, and tariffs on prescription drugs and medical device imports.