Healthcare coverage will decrease as premiums spike in 2026, according to an August report by online monitoring hub Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
Across the 326 insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace, the median proposed increase in monthly premiums is 18%. That would be the largest rate change request since 2018.
A July report from the tracker showed that no insurers have proposed premium decreases for clients, and some companies want to increase prices by more than 20%.
Insurers have listed increases in healthcare appointments, healthier customers, emergency room visits, and mental health treatment claims as reasons for the push to increase premiums.
“We’re in a period of uncertainty in every health insurance market right now, which is something we haven’t seen in a very long time,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of KFF. Over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 8.2 million people who receive healthcare under the ACA will become uninsured.