Premiums for Florida residents insured by Affordable Care Act plans for 2027 could jump nearly 16%, according to preliminary filings.
That’s slightly more than the median increase of 15% across the U.S., according to healthinsurance.org, an independent consumer website that helps the public navigate insurance complexities.
Insurers submitted proposed rates in July and they must be finalized this month before open enrollment begins Nov. 1.
Florida has the highest ACA enrollment among states with 4.5 million people getting their health insurance through marketplace plans in 2026. It is a drop from 4.7 million in 2025.
The decline is attributed to enhanced premium subsidies ending at the end of last year. The enhanced premium help had been put in place by the Biden administration in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and extended through the end of 2025.
A political battle in Congress over the subsidies and whether to extend them and other economic policies led to a 43-day government shutdown last fall that ended Nov. 12.
People with incomes at 400% or more of the federal poverty level, or $62,600 for a single person, lost premium assistance entirely when the enhanced credits expired. They faced full price premiums in 2026 and that will continue.
Full-price premiums for this year rose anywhere from 18% to 41%, depending on one’s age, according to healthinsurance.org.
They range from $330 to $420 a month for a 30 year old while a 60 year old faces paying anywhere between $780 to $1,050.
The hikes are blamed on rising healthcare costs along with the end of the enhanced subsidies.
In February after premium sticker shock set in, KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization, released survey findings that health care costs is the top cause of financial anxiety among Americans.
Two-thirds of survey respondents said it is a bigger source of stress than housing, food costs and other daily expenses. The survey involved 1,426 adults in January.
So what’s in store for 2027?
Heading into 2027, KFF also says a premium hike of 15% is in store for Florida and nationwide.
“Insurers cite higher costs for health services, general economic inflation, and labor shortages,” according to the KFF. “They also point to factors unique to the individual market: the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025 and a related increase in the risk pool’s morbidity, as contributing to rising rates for 2027.”
What’s on the horizon for 2027 will be the second consecutive year of double digit premium hikes. The median rate increase for 2026 was 20% nationwide.
An ACA expert for healthinsurance.org offered a caveat.
“After last year’s increases, another round of double-digit rate increases may sound alarming,” Louise Norris, with healthinsurance.org, said. “But proposed rate increases do not necessarily reflect what Marketplace enrollees will ultimately pay, and several key factors make the outlook for 2027 very different than what we saw for 2026.”
Most people who are enrolled in ACA plans still get premium assistance even though the enhanced premium subsidies expired at the end of last year.
Roughly 87% qualified for premium assistance. To qualify, household income must be between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
For a single person, the upper income limit is $62,600 at 400% of the federal poverty level; for a married couple the upper income limit is $84,600.
The subsidies are designed to keep pace with the cost of the benchmark second lowest cost Silver plan in each region. That means when premiums rise, so should subsidies, she said.
Those who will face the brunt of the premium increases are those who aren’t eligible for a subsidy, she said.
Subsidy or not, the largest driver of higher premiums is the ever-increasing cost of healthcare, she said.
“This includes a variety of factors, including higher hospital and drug costs (including the cost of GLP-1 medications), higher labor costs, and increased utilization of medical services.”
Sixteen companies currently offer ACA plans this year in Florida with some regional variation.
Most of the carriers will continue in Florida next year except Cigna is dropping out of Florida and 10 other states at the end of 2026. Sunshine State Health Plan won’t offer ACA coverage next year in Florida, according to healthinsurance.org.
KFF points out that the expiration of the enhanced subsidies led to an enrollment drop in 2026 with healthier people taking the risk with that move. That trend is expected to continue for 2027.
With healthier people dropping out of the market, it left a smaller number of enrollees who are somewhat sicker and more expensive to cover on average.
“Individual market insurers are expecting the market to continue to deteriorate in 2027 as a result of the expiration of these enhanced tax credits,” according to KFF.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: More sticker shock: Floridians will pay 15% more in ACA premiums
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
