Americans take drastic steps to deal with rising Obamacare bills
- - Americans take drastic steps to deal with rising Obamacare bills
Ken Alltucker, USA TODAYJanuary 11, 2026 at 5:04 AM
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Months after she signed up for health insurance in mid-2025, Houston resident Mila Clarke ran the numbers and knew Affordable Care Act coverage wouldn't be an option for 2026.
The 36-year-old small business owner couldn't find a plan as inexpensive as the $350-per-month insurance she had in 2025. The COVID-era subsidies that made Obamacare health insurance less expensive expired in December, leaving Clarke and millions of others with sharply higher insurance bills in 2026.
The extra costs were too much for Clarke. In addition to costly monthly premiums, she spent hundreds each month on insulin, an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor and medical appointments to treat her Type 1 diabetes.
"I was spending over $1,000 a month just trying to stay alive," said Clarke, a health coach and diabetes advocate who runs the Hangry Woman website.
Instead of signing up for an ACA plan, Clarke married her partner, Greg, in a hastily planned courthouse ceremony on Dec. 1 so she could be added to his corporate health insurance plan.
"The thing that kind of irks me is we had to rush our plans," Clarke said. "We had this thing looming over our heads, and the decision was life or death."
Without the enhanced tax credits that expired at the end of 2025, average costs for 22 million Americans who get subsidized ACA insurance more than doubled in January according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit.
An average of 3.8 million Americans are expected to lose health insurance through 2035 due to the expiration of the enhanced subsidies, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in December. Others, such as Clarke, will get coverage elsewhere.
In an election year when affordability remains a top concern among voters, Congress continues to debate a solution for rising ACA health insurance costs.
The House of Representatives on Jan. 8 voted to extend the enhanced subsidies another three years. The bill is less likely to clear the Senate, which has already voted to reject the enhanced subsidies. But talks have continued among some senators for a possible bipartisan solution to rising health insurance costs.
If the House bill is adopted, the CBO estimated the legislation would add $80.6 billion to the federal budget deficit by 2035.
With no legislative solution in sight, consumers are cutting expenses elsewhere to maintain their health insurance.
Wisconsin couple trims household expenses, nix vacation plans
Altoona, Wisconsin, resident Kelly Berry and her husband are both self-employed and don't have access to corporate health insurance. They've relied on Obamacare coverage for doctors visits, annual physicals, vaccinations and other preventive care.
In 2025, they had individual "bronze" level insurance plans that each carried $7,500 deductibles and monthly premiums that were fully subsidized. With the enhanced subsidies gone in 2026, they pay a combined $2,300 per month for plans that carry $8,000 deductibles - the amount they must pay before most coverage kicks in.
"To go from zero to $2,300 (per month) is financially a huge hit," said Berry, 58, who serves as a consultant and offers peer-review services for small businesses.
They've cut back on streaming services and spent less on Christmas. They probably will skip vacation, and Berry won't attend an upcoming work conference in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Even after cutting household expenses, she doesn't know if they will save enough to pay their monthly insurance bills. She also thinks entrepreneurs will think twice before leaving a corporate job with robust health insurance. That means fewer people willing to start a small business, said Kelly, a former University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire business professor who taught market research and entrepreneurship.
"It doesn't feel fair to penalize people who are doing their best to stay covered and be responsible," Berry said.
'Looking for a unicorn' and coming up empty
Chicago resident Farihah Khandaker is still searching for a health insurance plan that will allow her to visit her doctors and fill prescriptions at a reasonable rate.
"I'm looking for a unicorn that doesn't exist," said Khandaker, a self-employed consultant and information technology project manager.
The lowest-tier plan charged a monthly premium of $250, but she said it charged 50% coinsurance – the percentage of a medical bill of service that she must pay out of pocket. She visits a specialist twice a year and fills prescriptions for chronic conditions. Paying a higher monthly premium and more of her own money when getting care didn't make financial sense for her, so she passed.
Khandaker has spent many days researching health insurance options and making calls before the Jan. 15 enrollment deadline. She's not optimistic she'll find an affordable plan with robust coverage.
She's also losing hope that Congress will find a solution.
"I cannot believe they are letting it (enhanced subsidies) expire right now when the cost of living and inflation have skyrocketed," Khandaker said. "It just really hurts right now. Rent has gone up. I go to the grocery store and I'm paying so much more. Now, health care (costs are increasing) as well."
Following the House vote on Jan. 8, advocates urged the Senate to pass legislation to extend the subsides for consumers.
"Millions of Americans, especially young adults and families already facing rising costs, are depending on these credits to keep their coverage and avoid being priced out of care. Continued delays add to confusion and force people to make impossible choices between health care and basic needs," said Kristin McGuire, president and CEO of Young Invincibles, a nonprofit health and education advocacy group.
Doctors brace for the uninsured
Doctors and clinics that take care of people without health insurance anticipate many Americans will seek care after losing coverage.
Federally-funded community health centers already care for about 1 in 5 Americans without health insurance. These centers, often located in rural communities, expect another 1.9 to 4.2 million uninsured patients will need care due to the expiration of the ACA enhanced subsidies and Medicaid cuts from the Republicans' 2025 tax cut and spending legislation, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
About 1,800 of the nation's 17,000 community health centers would close due to the financial strain of more uninsured patients, said Dr. Kyu Rhee, president and CEO of the community health centers group.
For people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, delaying or not getting care could be fatal. The community health centers group estimates 5,000 to 6,000 people could die as a result of the Medicaid and ACA cuts.
"We're at a very tenuous situation already," said Rhee. "The patient impact is extraordinary."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rising Obamacare rates prompt Americans to take drastic steps
Source: “AOL Money”
