ACA enrollment deadline arrives with Congress still at an impasse over subsidies
The deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage has arrived with lawmakers yet to reach a deal to help keep millions of their constituents on their healthcare plans.
The Biden-era enhanced subsidies have now expired and lawmakers have yet to agree on what, if any, assistance could be provided going forward, with premiums expected to skyrocket. Americans have until Thursday to enroll in coverage for 2026.
The biggest providers of ACA Marketplace plans, like Oscar Health, Molina Healthcare, Centene, and UnitedHealth dipped as the enrollment deadline passed.
A solution reached after Thursday may be harder to implement considering many people have already forgone coverage. About 22.8 million people enrolled in ACA plans as of January 3, according to data released on Monday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, down from 24.3 million in 2025.
The drop-off is less severe than the 2.2 million drop the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had previously projected, though more people may drop coverage throughout the year as they face sky-high premium payments.
The ACA tax credits, which were at the center of the longest US government shutdown in history in November, have become a political liability for Republicans leading up to the midterm elections this year. ACA enrollees are disproportionately from Republican districts and states.
A group of moderate House Republicans voted with Democrats to pass a three-year extension of the credits, but that bill failed in the Senate and lawmakers in the upper chamber continue to negotiate a replacement bill.
The drop-off is less severe than the 2.2 million drop the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had previously projected, though more people may drop coverage throughout the year as they face sky-high premium payments.
The ACA tax credits, which were at the center of the longest US government shutdown in history in November, have become a political liability for Republicans leading up to the midterm elections this year. ACA enrollees are disproportionately from Republican districts and states.
A group of moderate House Republicans voted with Democrats to pass a three-year extension of the credits, but that bill failed in the Senate and lawmakers in the upper chamber continue to negotiate a replacement bill.
