The ACA marketplace open enrollment period is set to run from Sunday through Jan. 15, with multiple changes scheduled for 2027 including expiring financial assistance and rising rates.
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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace open enrollment period, sometimes called Obamacare, is set to start Sunday in most U.S. states and run through Jan. 15.
The exchange changes outlined in the reporting include expiring financial assistance, rising premium rates, potential delays in working with a broker, new restrictions affecting immigrants, and stricter enrollment checks.
Financial help, including premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, is described as being restricted for many groups who were previously eligible.
Analysis cited in the reporting based on new CMS data expects the average price of health insurance purchased through the ACA marketplaces to rise by 13% in 2027, with the increase attributed to factors including rising healthcare costs and hospital market concentration.
The reporting also notes the potential influence of the No Surprises Act, which took effect in 2022 and bans surprise billing, and the rising availability of GLP-1 drugs.
People most affected by the new increases are described as those who do not qualify for a subsidy, with the reporting stating that some have already moved into bronze plans.
A CMS fact sheet distributed Friday is described as saying Americans using HealthCare.gov will have robust access to low-cost plans.
The reporting says the price of ACA insurance has risen for many people following the opposition by Republicans to extending COVID-era subsidies that had offset health insurance costs for many enrollees during President Joe Biden’s administration.
It also states that there were 1.2 million fewer people signing up for coverage in the exchanges after those changes.
In addition, new regulations starting in 2027 are described as limiting tax credits for certain lawfully present immigrants, which the reporting says could result over time in an additional 1 million uninsured individuals.
The reporting further says the Trump administration has been removing some ACA enrollees from the program as part of efforts it characterizes as targeting waste, fraud and abuse, and notes that officials announced plans to remove 760,000 ACA enrollees from public healthcare exchanges in September.
The reporting says as of February, about 19.2 million people in the U.S. were actively enrolled in ACA marketplace health plans, and notes the number grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when enhanced subsidies were available through the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The reporting says it is unclear how many more people will drop off coverage in 2027, adding that higher premiums, immigration eligibility changes and anti-fraud efforts could make reasons for enrollment changes harder to understand.
In the reporting, Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the ACA program at KFF, is quoted saying fewer people may be enrolled in the market and that it will be harder to understand why.
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