Double-Digit Premium Increases May Be Headed To Obamacare Plans In 2026

The Wall Street Journal: Obamacare Insurers Seek Double-Digit Premium Hikes Next Year
If you buy your own health insurance, you are probably going to pay more next year—a lot more. Insurers are seeking hefty 2026 rate increases for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, the coverage known as Obamacare. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois wants a 27% hike, while its sister Blue Cross plan in Texas is asking for 21%. The largest ACA plans in Washington state, Georgia and Rhode Island are all looking for premiums to surge more than 20%. (Wilde Mathews, 7/18)

KFF Health News: Insurers And Customers Brace For Double Whammy To Obamacare Premiums
Most of the 24 million people in Affordable Care Act health plans face a potential one-two punch next year — double-digit premium increases along with a sharp drop in the federal subsidies that most consumers depend on to buy the coverage, also known as Obamacare. Insurers want higher premiums to cover the usual culprits — rising medical and labor costs and usage — but are tacking on extra percentage point increases in their 2026 rate proposals to cover effects of policy changes advanced by the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. (Appleby, 7/18)

The Hill: Democratic Attorneys General Sue Trump Administration To Block ObamaCare Changes
A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration Thursday to block implementation of a rule they argue will undermine the Affordable Care Act. The complaint was co-led by California, Massachusetts and New Jersey and filed in federal court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleges the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) illegally made changes to the health law, which will make it harder for people to enroll and will shift costs to states. (Weixel, 7/17)

The Texas Tribune: 1.7 Million Texans Could Lose Health Care Under ACA Changes 
Up to 1.7 million Texans are expected to lose their health insurance through coming changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplace under Republicans’ tax and spending megabill, according to an analysis by health policy experts — a serious blow to a state health care system already strained by the highest uninsured rate in the nation. (Birenbaum, 7/18)

Medicaid —

Stateline: Tracking Medicaid Patients’ Work Status May Be Difficult For States
States must begin verifying millions of Medicaid enrollees’ monthly work status by the end of next year — a task some critics say states will have a hard time carrying out. (Chatlani, 7/17)

Modern Healthcare: CMS To End 1115 Waivers For Medicaid Enrollment Flexibilities
The federal government won’t approve or renew state programs to promote multiyear, continuous Medicaid enrollment or health professional workforce development, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday. Affected 1115 waivers will operate until their original approvals run out, then cease, Center for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Services Director Drew Snyder wrote in a pair of memoranda. (Early, 7/17)

Bloomberg: Nevada, California Among States Likely Hurt Most By Medicaid Cuts, Barclays Says
President Donald Trump’s budget bill that could deeply cut the nation’s largest public health-insurance program stands to hurt some states more than others, according to Barclays Plc. Louisiana, Nevada and California stand to be the most negatively impacted if Medicaid is reduced, based on funding losses as a percentage of yearly revenue loss and the number of Americans with chronic health conditions living there, municipal strategists Mikhail Foux, Francisco San Emeterio and Grace Cen said in a Thursday note. (Taylor, 7/17)

Also —

KFF Health News: Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be A Thing Of The Past. Surprise — They’re Not
Last year in Massachusetts, after finding lumps in her breast, Jessica Chen went to Lowell General Hospital-Saints Campus, part of Tufts Medicine, for a mammogram and sonogram. Before the screenings, she asked the hospital for the estimated patient responsibility for the bill using her insurance, Tufts Health Plan. Her portion, she was told, would be $359 — and she paid it. She was more than a little surprised weeks later to receive a bill asking her to pay an additional $1,677.51. “I was already trying to stomach $359, and this was many times higher,” Chen, a physician assistant, told me. (Rosenthal, 7/18)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Costs To Grow 8.5% In 2026: PwC
Group healthcare costs are expected to increase by 8.5% in 2026. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute based its forecast published Thursday on policy changes, expensive medications including glucagon-like peptide agonists, higher rates of behavioral health claims and increased use of artificial intelligence, among other factors. (DeSilva, 7/17)