Washington, D.C. — Last month, House Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that, if enacted, would raise health insurance premiums for millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. A new Center for American Progress analysis makes clear that older adults would be hit especially hard—facing, on average, at least $1,200 more in annual premiums to keep their current ACA marketplace plan. In multiple states, premium hikes for adults ages 55 and older would exceed an average of $10,000—including a staggering $15,200 average increase in West Virginia and a $16,700 increase in Alaska. These increases would come as a result of the OBBBA’s provisions as well as congressional Republicans’ failure to extend the enhanced ACA premium tax credits after this year.
This new CAP analysis reveals how marketplace costs will surge if the OBBBA becomes law, hurting older Americans with ACA coverage. Some of the key findings include:
- Older adults in some states could pay at least $10,000 more in additional premium costs for ACA marketplace coverage. For example, a 60-year-old making just under $63,000 per year would face an average of more than $3,000 in additional premium costs in 46 U.S. states to keep their current plan. In 32 states, those increases would exceed $5,000. In four states, the added premium costs would exceed $10,000.
- A 55-year-old earning around $39,000 per year would see their annual premium costs rise, on average, by about $1,300 for a benchmark silver plan. A bronze plan would cost them roughly $1,700 more per year, and a gold coverage plan would cost an additional $2,600 annually.
- A 60-year-old making about $62,800 would have to pay almost $5,800 in additional premium costs for benchmark silver coverage, for a total of $11,100 in annual costs, or about $7,300 more in premium costs for a bronze or gold plan.
“These sharp cost increases represent a real threat to older adults’ ability to access health care,” said Andrea Ducas, vice president of Health Policy and co-author of the analysis. “If enacted, the House Republican proposal would effectively price many aging Americans out of affordable coverage they rely on until they became eligible for Medicare.”
Read the analysis: “Older Adults With ACA Coverage Would Face Steep Premium Hikes Under House Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by Andrés Argüello and Andrea Ducas
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].