“One in seven people who signed up for Affordable Care Act plans this year failed to pay after premium costs rose sharply, according to an analysis that provides the first comprehensive look at the impact of expiring federal subsidies,” Anna Wilde Mathews writes for The Wall Street Journal. “Nationally, around 14% of those who enrolled in A.C.A. plans this year didn’t pay their first monthly bill for January coverage. In some states, the share was a quarter or more, according to a new analysis from the actuarial firm Wakely Consulting Group, provided exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. ‘It’s a big drop,’ said Michelle Anderson, a Wakely consulting actuary. Normally, the rate of falloff in A.C.A. plan membership early in the year is in the mid-single-digit range. A.C.A. enrollment was already declining. Sign-ups fell to 23 million in 2026, from a peak of more than 24 million last year. This new data shows that millions more are at risk of losing A.C.A. insurance. Some enrollees have a grace period, allowing them to retain their plans for three months even if they don’t make a payment. The A.C.A. market is a crucial business for some insurers, and politically sensitive because voters have focused on healthcare costs as a major source of financial pain. Democrats are expected to highlight the issue in this year’s midterm elections. Many A.C.A. policyholders saw their insurance bills mushroom after expanded federal subsidies that started during the pandemic lapsed at the start of January, when insurers were already implementing major rate hikes largely because of rising health costs. ” “Around 14% of enrollees in A.C.A. plans failed to make payments, data shows,” The Wall Street Journal. The full report is here.
