By Vanessa Mitchell | M•I•A MEDIA GROUP
For Americans buying health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, the price of staying covered is climbing again. Consumers who no longer qualify for financial assistance face an especially difficult calculation: absorb the full premium, accept a plan with greater out-of-pocket costs or risk going uninsured.
As enrollment opens for 2027 coverage, Florida’s average individual-market premiums are increasing by 10.4% before subsidies, according to state insurance data reported by WLRN. What households actually pay will depend on their plan, location, income and eligibility for assistance.
Often called Obamacare, marketplace coverage consists of private insurance purchased through a government-operated exchange. Federal tax credits help eligible consumers pay their premiums.
The affordability problem has intensified since enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. The original ACA subsidies remain, but the additional assistance that made coverage less expensive for millions of people has ended.
Losing assistance changes the equation
Consumers with household incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level no longer qualify for marketplace premium tax credits. They must pay the full price of their insurance, exposing them directly to premium increases.
Nationally, benchmark Silver plan premiums are rising an average of 13% for 2027, according to KFF. That follows a 26% increase between 2025 and 2026. Eligible consumers may receive larger tax credits that cushion rising benchmark premiums; people without subsidies lack that protection.
The distinction explains why an insurer’s rate increase tells only part of a family’s story. A household losing its subsidy can experience a much larger increase in its own payment than the percentage increase in the plan’s underlying price.
For example, a hypothetical policy costing $900 monthly would rise to $990 after a 10% increase. If the household also lost a $500 monthly subsidy, its payment would jump from $400 to $990. That illustration is not a quoted insurance rate.
A cheaper premium can conceal higher costs
Consumers seeking relief may consider Bronze plans with lower premiums. But eligible households that leave a Silver plan can forfeit cost-sharing reductions that lower deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. Those additional benefits are available only through qualifying Silver coverage.
For someone managing diabetes, cancer or another ongoing condition, the practical question extends beyond the monthly bill: What will prescriptions, specialist visits and treatment cost throughout the year?
The broader concern is declining coverage. KFF reports that paid marketplace enrollment fell to 19.2 million in February 2026, down 2.6 million from a year earlier following the enhanced subsidies’ expiration.
What Florida consumers should do
Florida’s enrollment period runs through Jan. 15, 2027. Consumers generally must select coverage by Dec. 15 for a Jan. 1 start.
HealthCare.gov advises applicants to update expected income and household information before comparing plans. Assistance is based on projected income for the coverage year, and outdated information can produce incorrect subsidies and repayment obligations.
Families should compare deductibles, prescription coverage, provider networks and total annual expenses alongside premiums.
For households losing financial help, the challenge is increasingly fundamental: finding insurance they can afford to purchase — and afford to use.