About 3 million fewer people had Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage in February than at the same point a year earlier, according to a Health and Human Services report released June 26, 2026. Enrollment fell from 22.1 million to 19.2 million, a 13% drop, after Congress let the enhanced premium subsidies expire at the end of 2025, the Associated Press reported.
What Expired and When
The enhanced premium tax credits started in the 2021 American Rescue Plan and were extended by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. They lowered what people pay for marketplace plans and removed the old income cap on who could get help.
Those credits expired at the end of 2025. Congress fought over renewing them last fall. Democrats and some Republicans pushed to extend them. The extension did not pass, and the credits lapsed on schedule.
How Much Premiums Rose
The cost of keeping a plan jumped the moment the credits ended. The average marketplace customer’s monthly payment rose 58%, from about $113 to $178, according to KFF. If everyone had stayed in the same plan, KFF estimated the sticker premium would have risen about 114%.
Deductibles went up too. The average marketplace deductible reached $3,786 in 2026, more than $1,000 higher than the year before. People are paying more each month and owe more before coverage kicks in.
Who Dropped Coverage
The biggest losses hit people who earn more than four times the federal poverty line. The enhanced credits had removed the income cap on subsidies. When they expired, that cap snapped back, and those households lost all help at once. Many are self-employed workers, early retirees, and small business owners who buy their own insurance.
22.1M → 19.2M ACA marketplace enrollment from February 2025 to February 2026, per HHS.
The number could keep falling. KFF’s Cynthia Cox said coverage may decline through the year, potentially to about 17.5 million people. The 3 million already gone is the floor, not the ceiling.
Why It Matters
Losing marketplace coverage does not make people healthier or cheaper to treat. It shifts the cost. Someone without insurance still gets sick, still goes to the emergency room, and still faces medical debt. Uninsured people are also more likely to skip care they cannot afford and to be diagnosed later, when treatment costs more and works less.
The coverage drop also lands alongside the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 budget law, which tighten eligibility and add work requirements starting in 2027. Two of the largest sources of health coverage for working families are shrinking at the same time.
What You Can Do Now
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Use the letter below to ask your members of Congress to restore the enhanced premium tax credits and make them retroactive, so people priced out this year can get covered again. This is a vote Congress can take.
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Call your representatives at (202) 224-3121. Tell them the HHS numbers are out, 3 million people already lost coverage, and you want the subsidies back.
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If the enhanced credits expiring raised your own premium or pushed you off a plan, say so when you write or call. A specific story from a constituent carries more weight than a statistic.
Sources
- ABC News / AP: Millions Drop Obamacare Coverage After Subsidies Expire and Costs Rise
- KFF: What We Know So Far About 2026 ACA Marketplace Enrollment, Premiums, and Deductibles
- NPR: 5 Million People Dropped ACA Health Insurance After the GOP Let Prices Rise