I've noticed news articles about the looming 2026
#ACA premium hikes claiming that "average" increases will be 18%.
This is based on a
@kff.org study from last month, but that's not what it said. It said MEDIAN rate hikes will be 18%.
AVERAGE increases? 23.4%.
acasignups.net/25/09/03/exc...Exclusive: Full-price 2026 ACA...
Exclusive: Full-price 2026 ACA premium rate hikes to average 23.4% (semi-final)
IMPORTANT: See here for methodology & state-by-state analysis Every year, I spend months painstakingly tracking every insurance carrier rate filing (nearly 400 for 2025!) for the following year to determine just how much average insurance policy premiums on the individual market are projected to increase or decrease. As of September 2nd, I've managed to fill in preliminary weighted average 2026 rate filings for all 50 states +DC as well as the final/approved rate filings for 15 states. While it will move up or down slightly as more states finalize their 2026 filings, as of this writing, the weighted average rate increase for unsubsidized enrollees is 23.4% nationally. This is the 2nd highest year-over-year gross rate hike since the ACA overhauled the individual market starting in 2014.
ACA SignupsThe avg. rate increases range from as low as an 0.2% *drop* in Alaska to a stunning 36.8% increase in Mississippi.
However, that slight drop in Alaska doesn't mean much given that the average full price plan costs over $1,100/month to begin with.
Most of these are preliminary filings; some will drop a bit as final/approved rate decisions are made by state regulators.
With that said, right now in actual dollars, IDAHO is set to have the lowest avg premiums at $530/mo while WEST VIRGINIA will have the highest at a jaw-dropping $1,302/mo.
That's $15,624/yr in premiums.
Keep in mind that the median household income in West Virginia was $60,798/yr last year, and the avg. household size is 2.4 people.
#FunWithMath
data.census.gov/profile/West...Explore Census Data