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Health Insurance Premiums Surge 9%, Leaving Millions Uncovered
Confirmed
In Short: Health insurance premiums have risen by 9%, leaving over 1 in 6 Americans under 65 without coverage.
Health insurance premiums have surged by 9%, according to a report from the Center for American Progress, highlighting a growing crisis in healthcare access.
The report, which was published on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, underscores the widespread impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has led to millions of Americans losing health care coverage and food assistance.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has seen disproportionate enrollment gains among Black and Latino Americans, helping to reduce racial disparities in coverage, but as of 2025, about 1 in 6 people under age 65 do not have access to coverage, including many small-business owners, tradespeople, part-time workers, and gig economy participants.
The Protect Our Care campaign is touring nine states with a bus tour titled 'Sick of It. Fix Health Care Now,' aiming to highlight the health care crisis ignited by Republicans in Congress.
The campaign notes that since the ACA was ransacked for over $1 trillion to fund tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, millions have been kicked off their coverage, and over 1,250 hospitals, clinics, and essential providers have closed, cut services, or are at risk of doing so.
The Protect Our Care campaign is also emphasizing the need to restore tax credits to lower insurance premiums, reverse Medicaid cuts, expand Medicare’s power to negotiate lower drug prices, and extend those lower prices to all insured Americans.
Health insurance providers are required to cover all preventive services that receive an A or B grade recommendation, at no cost, according to a report from Ars Technica.
The White House began mailing $500 refund checks on Wednesday to nearly 1 million Americans who were overcharged for their ACA insurance, with the checks going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states who use healthcare.gov.
The $500 refund checks, which were first announced on September 10, are separate from a controversial $5,000 dividend President Trump has vowed to distribute to all Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress during the midterms.
Healthcare costs are rising faster than ever, and open enrollment is when the healthcare affordability crisis will hit home for many people, according to Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz joined law enforcement officials in Queens as they searched offices and delivered warning letters to almost 100 providers, informing them that their Medicaid billing far exceeded their peers.
Some 90 percent of Americans aren’t keeping up with screenings, according to a 2025 poll, and depression has been increasing in U.S. teens since before the pandemic, with around 15 percent experiencing major depression in 2025, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
What this adds
The study reveals that millions of Americans are losing health care coverage and food assistance while the wealthiest households benefit from tax breaks.
The 2025 data will be a key benchmark against which to measure the future effects of the harmful 2025 Republican reconciliation law, which takes food assistance and health coverage away from millions of people.
Background
Drake Bell, star of Nickelodeon's 'Drake & Josh,' denounced SAG-AFTRA on Instagram after failing to meet the union's health insurance eligibility requirements.
What's confirmed
- Health insurance premiums have surged by 9%, according to a report from the Center for American Progress, highlighting a growing crisis in healthcare access.
- The report, which was published on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, underscores the widespread impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which has led to millions of Americans losing health care coverage and food assistance.
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has seen disproportionate enrollment gains among Black and Latino Americans, helping to reduce racial disparities in coverage, but as of 2025, about 1 in 6 people under age 65 do not have access to coverage, including many small-business owners, tradespeople, part-time workers, and gig economy participants.
- The Protect Our Care campaign is touring nine states with a bus tour titled 'Sick of It. Fix Health Care Now,' aiming to highlight the health care crisis ignited by Republicans in Congress.
- The campaign notes that since the ACA was ransacked for over $1 trillion to fund tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, millions have been kicked off their coverage, and over 1,250 hospitals, clinics, and essential providers have closed, cut services, or are at risk of doing so.
- The Protect Our Care campaign is also emphasizing the need to restore tax credits to lower insurance premiums, reverse Medicaid cuts, expand Medicare’s power to negotiate lower drug prices, and extend those lower prices to all insured Americans.
- Health insurance providers are required to cover all preventive services that receive an A or B grade recommendation, at no cost, according to a report from Ars Technica.
- The White House began mailing $500 refund checks on Wednesday to nearly 1 million Americans who were overcharged for their ACA insurance, with the checks going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states who use healthcare.gov.
- The $500 refund checks, which were first announced on September 10, are separate from a controversial $5,000 dividend President Trump has vowed to distribute to all Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress during the midterms.
- Healthcare costs are rising faster than ever, and open enrollment is when the healthcare affordability crisis will hit home for many people, according to Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF.
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz joined law enforcement officials in Queens as they searched offices and delivered warning letters to almost 100 providers, informing them that their Medicaid billing far exceeded their peers.
- Some 90 percent of Americans aren’t keeping up with screenings, according to a 2025 poll, and depression has been increasing in U.S. teens since before the pandemic, with around 15 percent experiencing major depression in 2025, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
What's still developing
- As Care Force One travels through communities hit hardest by the GOP’s health care crisis one thing is clear: the American people are fighting back.
- We are hearing from cancer survivors like Laura Packard whose ACA coverage saved their lives, from mothers like Callie Harper in Georgia whose access to maternity care made the difference between life and death.
- “We’re interested in changing the timing of eating in a way that could make a difference in health without changing the composition of what people eat,” lead author Dr. Robert Wilechansky told the Independent.
- "accumulated a significant surplus of funds that were not used to benefit the Americans who paid these higher premiums."
- John Oliver 's main target was American health care conglomerate UnitedHealth Group and its insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, during Last Week Tonight on Sunday.
- “When we catch conditions early, we often have more options and better outcomes.” Babies are screened moments after birth and then multiple times in the first 24-48 hours.
- That doesn’t necessarily mean workers’ premiums will rise by 8.2%, said Dr. Kevin Schulman, a professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine who researches employer-based health insurance.
- Additional health insurance data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey will follow later this year.
- The 2025 data will be a key benchmark against which to measure the future effects of the harmful 2025 Republican reconciliation law which takes food assistance and health coverage away from millions of people, as the figures do not yet reflect the bulk of the law’s cuts.
- Many states launched websites this summer informing enrollees about… Head Start, a federal program that supports young children in low-income families, is headlining news in the early childhood policy and health worlds.
- Founded in 2005, CCF is devoted to improving the health of America’s children and families, particularly those with low and moderate incomes.