Washington, D.C. — House Republicans’ recently passed reconciliation bill—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—would significantly raise health insurance costs for millions of Americans who rely on the ACA marketplaces. A new Center for American Progress analysis finds that young adults with modest incomes would be hit hard compared with their higher-income peers.
If implemented, the OBBBA would shift more of the premium burden onto lower-income young adults while sparing or even benefitting young adults with higher incomes, deepening inequities in access to affordable care. This would leave young adults with the least financial flexibility to pay the most for care.
Some of the key takeaways from this new analysis include:
- Young adults with modest incomes could see premium costs rise by a staggering 500 percent or more in many states. For example, bronze plan premium costs for a single 28-year-old earning around $39,000 per year would rise by more than 500 percent in 16 states. In three states (Nebraska, Alabama, and South Dakota) they could see their premium costs rise by more than 1000 percent.
- Young adults with modest incomes would be hard hit compared with their higher-income peers. For example, a single 28-year-old earning around $39,000 per year in North Carolina would see their benchmark silver premium costs nearly double from $1,565 to $2,686. On the other hand, a 28-year-old North Carolinian making $63,000 would see their premium costs decrease by more than 12 percent from $5,175 to $4,533.
“The OBBBA along with upcoming ACA changes would cause premium costs for many young adults with low to modest incomes to skyrocket,” said Andrea Ducas, vice president of Health Policy at CAP. “The OBBBA would exacerbate the health inequity gap, potentially forcing many young adults to no longer be able to afford health care coverage at all.”
Read the analysis: “Young Adults With Lower Incomes Would Face Sharp ACA Premium Cost Increases Under the 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].