Obamacare premiums set to rise 13% as healthcare costs continue climbing

On Friday, the federal government published the proposed 2027 insurance rates for 30 states with marketplaces managed by the federal government. According to an analysis by the health research organization KFF, the average cost of health insurance premiums in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace is expected to rise by 13 percent next year.

Projections show that premiums for employer plans could rise by about 10 percent in 2027, while premiums for federal workers are also set to increase by over 10 percent.

A KFF poll found that health care affordability remains a major economic concern for voters heading into the midterm elections. Approximately 60 percent of registered voters said they were worried about being able to afford healthcare for themselves and their families.

The Trump administration sent some Obamacare enrollees $500 checks this month as a one-time payment to help offset insurance costs. However, broader medical expenses continue to climb, with industry analysts pointing to several factors behind the increases.

According to The New York Times, rising hospital prices, higher payments resulting from changes to consumer protection laws affecting doctor compensation, and the growing use of artificial intelligence have contributed to increasing costs. Certain employers have also highlighted expensive special prescriptions, such as GLP-1s and cancer drugs, as factors in rising bills.

In 2026, premiums rose by an average of 26 percent. Estimates by KFF find that enrollment fell by nearly five million people as of June.

Open enrollment for health insurance begins on Sunday. An estimated 19.2 million people were enrolled in Obamacare coverage early this year, roughly 10 percent of which are older consumers who earn more than $63,840 and have faced premium increases of over $1,000 a month in 2026.

“This is a really small number of people,” said Cynthia Cox, the director of KFF’s ACA program. “But these people are getting hit the hardest by rising health care costs, and they don’t get any help.”

Much of the blame for rising healthcare costs has been passed back-and-forth between Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Republican Senator Mike Lee commented on the report, writing on X, “Democrats will say skyrocketing premiums are a good reason to double down on the same policies that make Obamacare ineffective and unaffordable. They want a single-payer healthcare system run by DC bureaucrats. That’d make everything worse. Just say ‘no!’ Vote Republican.”