Congress has failed to pass a measure to extend the enhanced Obamacare health insurance subsidies, and also failed to pass a measure to give cash payments for healthcare to individual Americans as a substitute for the first, meaning that insurance premiums for Obamacare plans will go up.
The Republicans blocked the enhanced subsidy bill, and the Democrats blocked the cash payment bill. The impasse seems unlikely to lift soon, with Congress about to leave for the holidays and no sign that either side will give in — meaning that the battle is likely to re-start in an election year.
With the Dec. 15 deadline for picking 2026 plans just days away, for most people that probably means that they’ll have to choose: If you no longer qualify for a subsidy, pay more — or scale back your coverage, or go without.
So what does it look like out there? How are people responding? We asked on social media, and here’s what we heard.
Using an inheritance, quitting
A 60-year-old single woman from the Pacific Northwest wrote: “My W2 contract job with health insurance is ending next week and I will probably pursue self-employment as an instructional designer. In past periods of self-employment, I’ve carried a silver plan on the exchange for about 450/month with subsidies.
“Now that same plan would be over 1400/month. I will be signing up for cobra for 1200/month, using a small inheritance to cover the premiums. If subsidies aren’t reinstated in the next 18 months, I don’t know what I’ll do. Like most people my age, I have chronic health conditions and cannot go without insurance.”
A 26-year-old director of a small non-profit living in the Midwest wrote: “Projected annual income around $50k. My monthly premium will increase from $29 to $278.”
An emeritus Episcopal Church clergy member in the Midwest wrote: “A free breakfast program I work with is losing a co-director because with what we can pay, she can’t afford the increased premiums. (It’s a part time job, 12-15 hours/week). I’d guess this will be the case for other small non-profits.”
A middle-aged academic in the Northeast wrote: “We are extremely lucky for the time being. Our income has been low enough that my wife and daughter have been returned to New York State’s Medicaid expansion plan — I get healthcare through my work, but no family coverage. We’ll see if reporting our income in April changes that, but I think it will last through the year, as it did once before. We’ll see what things are like in 2027, but we will both become eligible for Medicare that year.” He added that his wife and daughter had been on an Obamacare plan, but were notified that this year they would be moved to the Essential Plan, starting Jan. 1.
A 64-year-old retired woman in central Texas wrote: “Last year’s plan increased by $250 if I stayed with it, $653 to $877. Found a plan that’s $804. My husband is on Medicare. Went from a bronze to silver plan.”
‘Medicare for all, please’
A Minnesota woman who’s married to an involuntarily retired software engineer wrote: “Last year I was on COBRA at $890/mo, w/ $100 deductible. This year’s ACA plan is $1111/mo w/ $3400 deductible. Hard to believe a COBRA plan was BETTER and CHEAPER!! For comparison, husband is just starting Medicare in January and his cost will be $264/mo (Part B, Part D and Medigap) with a Max Out of Pocket of $2780. MEDICARE FOR ALL, PLEASE!!”
An Iowa woman wrote: “I was working at a sucky law firm just to get health benefits. My rates just to cover me and my son were going to go up next year more than what I paid on the marketplace last year. Basically, all but one of the Iowa staff and attorneys have quit in the last month. My rates on the marketplace were going to be $200 less than what the firm would pay.
“I got my January coverage paid for but now don’t know what will happen in February. Without the subsidy, it will go up over $1000 a month. I have a lot of health conditions and am on a lot of medications. Just my prescription eye drops are $400 a month without insurance, $65 a month with insurance. I really don’t want to lose my eyesight. I need to see for my work.”
A 59-year-old self-employed health care practitioner wrote: “*Lowest* premium increase was 28%. I pay for my son’s plan also, as he works for me. He needs health care coverage because of multiple health issues. I’m sucking it up and paying for it, but ouch, it cuts into my (already small) profit margin. This system stinks.”
A small-business owner in South Dakota wrote: “Last year’s ACA plan montly premium with subsidies for me (58 y/o plus 18 y/o college daughter) was $823, the same plan will cost us $1557 this year w/o subsidies (Last year if same plan with no subsidies would have cost $1300 something…) So, the 90% increase is unaffordable and we’ll be dropping coverage levels to the cheapest available plan – period, which is $1127/mo of us both – $10,000 deductible, $140 co pay for office visits.
“(Husband thankfully on original Medicare, plus G and D.) I’ll be finalizing the enrollment today but am concerned about the prescription drug coverage of this lower plan as our daughter has a specific prescription and I can’t tell from the grid what it will cost now – one says $500 copay after deductible! I’ll have to stop physical therapy as deductible is now so high.”
To $250, from $4
A couple who are small business owners in their 50’s with A.C.A. plans in Hawaii wrote: “Premiums for both in 2025 $4 and increased to $250 in 2026 for same silver plan.”
A Wisconsin man wrote: “Hola! We have coverage with the marketplace; paying about $575/month for our family in Wisconsin. Estimated new cost without the subsidies was $3K/month! We are joining my (non-profit) company plan for about $2K/month.”
A gig worker in Florida wrote: “I am 62 and my coverage was $150 for a BCBS plan in FL. Hubby got a job that paid for HIS benefits and mine went to $800/mo, so I dropped it and went with a HealthShare plan. My share is $300/mo with a $7500 deductible. Hubby is now on Medicare.”
Not everyone who doesn’t qualify for subsidies is having the same experience.
A 53-year-old Minnesota man, buying on the state MNSure marketplace, wrote: “I didn’t qualify for a subsidy, but my premiums are going from 483 – $619/month. So something on the order of 30% increase in the unsubsidized rack rate.”
A Pennsylvania man wrote: “Absolutely nothing changed for me. If you’re above the threshold income for benefits it stayed the same.” He added that he once qualified for tax subsidies, but is now way over the income level. Then he wrote back about premiums: “mine actually are going down. I think it dropped like 10-20 bucks.”
Dec. 15 is the cutoff date for most states for 2026 coverage, but several states have a later deadline: Dec. 23 in Massachusetts, and Dec. 31 in California, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and Rhode Island, according to Charles Gaba at ACASignups, an expert in all things Affordable Care Act.
“In the other 43 states, the deadline is 12/15…but in 42 of them you’ll still have until at least 1/15 to switch to a different plan for coverage starting in February if you have to,” Gaba writes. “One big exception: In IDAHO, the 12/15 deadline is the only deadline for Open Enrollment…if you miss it, you’re SOL for the year unless you become eligible for a Special Enrollment Period for some reason.”
His full 2026 enrollment guide is here.
What you can do
It probably doesn’t make that much sense to wait any more if you are in a Dec. 15 deadline state.
Consider that an extension of the tax credits might also take place when Congress comes back from its break. That extension could be retroactive.
Do not allow yourself to be automatically re-enrolled in your current year’s plan. This year and any other year, you should go through the entire process from scratch, estimating your expected income and following through. Insurers frequently change premiums, deductibles, formularies and so on. Re-enrolling automatically might easily land you in a worse place than where you are now, or it might be the best choice — you won’t know until you run the numbers.
Gaba writes: “For example: There are 14 states where you’ll be able to enroll in GOLD plans which cost LESS than Silver plans. In some cases you may be able to get a gold plan for $0/month even without the enhanced tax credits!”
Some people are enthusiastic about the health sharing plans, which cost less than regular insurance and promise to cover just as much. We have heard some very scary stories about people whose catatrophic health expenses were not covered by such plans. As so often, if it looks too good to be true, it often is.
The same is true for other offers separate from health sharing plans. There are a lot of bad actors out there, and in the Trump administration’s tradition of lax regulation, we expect to see more shady insurance offerings.
For the full story on enrolllment, look at Gaba’s 2026 enrollment guide here.
