Obamacare enrollment drops after enhanced premium subsidies expire [View all]
Source: CNN Politics
PUBLISHED Jan 28, 2026, 10:29 PM ET
More than a million fewer people have signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage for 2026, according to federal data released Wednesday. The drop comes after the expiration of the enhanced federal premium subsidies caused monthly payments to skyrocket for many enrollees.
Just under 23 million people selected plans for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That compares to just under 24.2 million people in roughly the same period last year. The data includes all sign ups in the 30 states using the federal exchange, where open enrollment ended January 15. But it doesn’t capture full enrollment in all the states that run their own exchanges, a few of which are allowing people to sign up through the end of this month.
However, total enrollment is likely to fall in coming months, experts said. A sizeable share of consumers were automatically reenrolled in policies and may not realize how much their premiums will rise until they get their first bill. This may prompt them to drop coverage or simply not pay, which will result in their being disenrolled in April.
“That number does not tell the full story. These numbers are going to go dramatically down month after month as people decide that they can’t afford health care and stop paying their premiums,” Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/politics/aca-subsidies-insurance-obamacare-enrollment
Mission accomplished.
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