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2026 is the first year in half a decade that marketplace buyers are paying premiums without the enhanced premium tax credits. Congress let those credits expire on December 31, 2025, and the result was the sharpest one-year jump in what people actually pay that the marketplace has seen.
What happened to premiums in 2026
KFF found that the average monthly premium payment among marketplace consumers rose 58 percent this year, from $113 to $178. For people who had received the enhanced credits, the jump was steeper: average annual premium payments went from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, a 114 percent increase.
Most buyers never paid the sticker price, and that is still true. ValuePenguin’s look at 2026 plan selections found that 86.7 percent of people who picked a plan still received some form of financial assistance. What changed is how much the assistance covers.
Sticker price vs. what you pay
The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker puts the 2026 average gross monthly premium for a benchmark Silver plan at $625, with the lowest-cost Bronze option at $456. Those are the numbers before any tax credit is applied.
The standard premium tax credits still exist. If your household income is at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, you qualify for at least some help. Above that line the credits disappear entirely. That cutoff is the subsidy cliff people are feeling this year: a modest raise can cost thousands in lost credits.
Who got hit hardest
KFF’s modeling shows the pain is concentrated in two groups. People just above 400 percent of the poverty line lost every dollar of credit overnight. And the Urban Institute projects that enrollees below 250 percent of the poverty line now face average net premiums more than four times what they paid under the enhanced credits, roughly $919 a month compared with $169.
How to estimate your own number
Your actual premium depends on income, household size, age, zip code, and which metal tier you pick. The fastest way to get a real number is the preview tool at healthcare.gov, which shows after-credit prices before you apply.
Two things are worth doing before you shop. First, update your income estimate. Credits are based on what you expect to earn this year, not last year’s tax return. If your income dropped, your credit may be bigger than the number on your renewal notice. Second, look at Bronze. The lowest-cost Bronze plans average $456 a month before credits, and their average deductible is $7,186, per the Peterson-KFF tracker. That deductible is real money, so Bronze makes the most sense if you are healthy and mostly need catastrophic protection.
If your renewal notice shocked you
Do not auto-renew without looking. Plans, networks, and drug lists reset every year, and your credit amount can change even if your income did not. Re-shop the same marketplace and compare your after-credit price across at least Bronze and Silver. For many households this year, dropping a tier or switching insurers cut the monthly payment by more than any other single move. For the full breakdown by age and tier, see how much health insurance costs per month in 2026, and how to lower your health insurance premium covers the rest of the playbook.
