Overview
- HealthCare.gov opened window-shopping for 2026 marketplace plans just ahead of the Nov. 1 start of open enrollment.
- KFF analysis shows average benchmark premiums rising about 26% nationwide, roughly 30% in HealthCare.gov states and 17% on state-run exchanges.
- If enhanced pandemic-era tax credits expire, average out-of-pocket premium payments would jump about 114%, and the CBO projects millions could lose coverage.
- The budget standoff continues to block a subsidy extension, with Senate Democrats demanding it in funding deals and Republican leaders refusing to negotiate until the shutdown ends.
- CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz downplayed consumer impacts, citing low-cost bronze options and a $13 average increase, a framing disputed by KFF and other health policy analysts.