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Obamacare Premiums Are Going Up Double Digits Again in 2027

1 day ago
3 min read


Cross shaped pool with a death spiral at the center

Obamacare premiums are set to rise by double digits again next year. It's the second year in a row.


Insurers selling plans on the ACA marketplace are asking for a median increase of 15% for 2027, according to KFF. And the people who already got squeezed this year, when extra federal subsidies expired, are the ones paying for it.



The numbers

KFF reviewed rate filings from 276 insurers across all 50 states and DC. The median proposed increase for 2027 is 15%. KFF says that's the second-highest requested increase since 2018.

  • Requests ranged from a 1% cut to a 54% increase. Most fell between 10% and 25%.

  • Only one insurer asked to lower its rates.

  • 51 insurers asked for increases above 25%.

  • Last year's median proposed increase was 18%, and the median final increase came in even higher, at 20%.


These are proposed rates. Final 2027 rates are usually released in late fall, and last year they ended up above what insurers first asked for.



Why insurers say premiums are rising

According to KFF, rising healthcare prices remain the main driver. In their filings, insurers point to:

  • Higher prices for health care services and general inflation

  • Labor shortages

  • More expensive claims

  • Hospital and doctor consolidation

  • Arbitration fights under the No Surprises Act

  • Costly drugs, including the new weight loss medications

  • Federal policy changes, including the end of enhanced subsidies

The median expected growth in medical costs for 2027 was 10%, based on the insurers that reported it.



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The subsidy cliff

The enhanced premium tax credits that had kept marketplace plans cheaper expired at the end of 2025. According to KFF, people who kept the same plan saw their premium payments jump 114% on average.


People did what you'd expect. Many dropped down to cheaper plans with much higher deductibles. Others dropped coverage entirely. Marketplace enrollment fell by about 3 million people, from a high of 22.1 million in 2025 to 19.2 million in February 2026. KFF projects it could average 17.5 million by the end of this year.


Healthier people were more likely to leave. That leaves a sicker pool behind, which pushes premiums up again, which drives out even more healthy people. Insurers listed that sicker risk pool as one of the reasons for their 2027 increases.



What the people who stayed are paying

Even after switching to cheaper plans, people who kept marketplace coverage are paying 58% more in premiums this year, on average.




What this means at the pharmacy counter

A bronze plan has a deductible of several thousand dollars. Until you hit it, the insurance company pays nothing toward most of your prescriptions. You pay the price set by your plan's PBM, out of your own pocket.


So a lot of families are now paying a monthly premium for the right to pay an inflated drug price.


Most generic drugs cost the pharmacy a few dollars. You don't need to meet a deductible to get them at a fair price. You need a pharmacy that tells you what the drug costs and adds a fair fee.



How we do it at Forest Park Pharmacy

We charge the cost of the drug plus a flat fee. Everybody pays the same price, whether they've met a deductible or not, and you see it before you pay.

Head to forestparkpharmacy.com, check the price checker, and transfer today to save.

See ya.



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