Individual Insurance “Double Whammy” Coming Next Year

Obamacare insurance premiums are projected to see a substantial increase for 2026, while federal subsidies that help consumers afford coverage are expected to decline sharply. This anticipated "double whammy" is linked to rising medical expenses and federal policy shifts, especially the higher tax subsidies expiring that have been in place since 2021. These changes could lead to much higher costs for people and a large drop in enrollment.. 

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New Federal Rules for Individual Marketplace Insurance Start This Year

Federal rules published in June are set to change some aspects of marketplace insurance for individuals/families on ACA health plans. Some changes go into effect as soon as August 25^th this year. The changes that start on this date include stricter income verification for people with income records that don’t match, temporarily stopping the special enrollment period for low-income people, and people in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) losing their coverage.

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Surprise! (And Not in a Good Way)

The No Surprises Act, which took effect in January 2022, was supposed to protect patients from unexpected medical bills (also called “balance billing”), but it hasn't fully stopped the issue. While it helped with surprise charges in emergencies, many patients still get unexpected bills for services not covered by the law. This shows that healthcare billing remains complex, and the current law has limitations.

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State Protections Against Medical Debt

The Commonwealth Fund published a report called State Protections Against Medical Debt: A Look at Policies Across the U.S. in 2025. The report’s appendix has a table listing all 50 states and showing which of the 10 medical debt protections are in place there, in case you want to look up your state. The number of protections varies widely between states.