News
What’s moving in health insurance
Ten stories from the last year — the ones most likely to show up on your bill, your options, or your enrollment paperwork. Every link goes straight to the original publisher.
CBS News
Oct 2025Health insurance premiums are set to jump in 2026 — more than twice the rate of inflation
Average benchmark ACA Marketplace premiums are rising about 26% for 2026, driven by medical cost growth and the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits. Workers on employer plans are looking at 6–7% hikes.
Read at CBS News →
KFF
Sep 2025Enhanced ACA subsidies expire, and the Marketplace “subsidy cliff” is back
With the American Rescue Plan / Inflation Reduction Act subsidy bump gone as of January 1, 2026, subsidized enrollees will pay 114% more on average. Anyone over 400% of the federal poverty line once again loses eligibility entirely.
Read at KFF →
American Medical Association
Jul 2025One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts $1 trillion+ from Medicaid and the ACA
Signed July 4, 2025, the OBBBA imposes six-month Medicaid redeterminations, new community-engagement requirements, and cost sharing up to $35 per service. CBO projects roughly 10 million people will lose coverage over the next decade.
Read at American Medical Association →
U.S. Census Bureau
Sep 2025Uninsured rate climbed to 8.2% in 2024 as Medicaid coverage dropped in 30 states
The American Community Survey shows the national uninsured rate rose from 7.9% in 2023 to 8.2% in 2024, with Medicaid declines in 22 states for kids and 33 states for working-age adults doing most of the damage.
Read at U.S. Census Bureau →
U.S. News & World Report
Apr 2025Medicaid “unwinding” pushed working-age adults off insurance rolls
New research finds that roughly 27 million people were disenrolled from Medicaid after pandemic-era continuous-coverage protections ended, with nearly 7 in 10 losing coverage for paperwork reasons rather than ineligibility.
Read at U.S. News & World Report →
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Jun 2025HHS and major insurers pledge to fix prior authorization
Plans covering an estimated 257 million Americans committed to standardized electronic prior authorization by 2027 and to honoring existing approvals for 90 days when a patient switches insurers starting January 1, 2026.
Read at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services →
AARP
Mar 2025Medicare telehealth coverage extended through 2027
A federal budget deal preserves Medicare’s pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities — including home-based visits, no geographic restrictions, and audio-only options — through December 31, 2027. Behavioral health telehealth is now permanent.
Read at AARP →
The White House
Nov 2025“Most Favored Nation” pricing drops GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to roughly $350 a month
A new deal anchors self-pay prices for Ozempic, Wegovy, and other injectable GLP-1s around $350 per month through manufacturer programs. Newer oral and starter-dose options are coming in under $200.
Read at The White House →
The Washington Post
Nov 2025Feds won’t enforce the three-month cap on short-term health plans
The Labor, Treasury, and HHS agencies said they will not enforce the Biden-era rule limiting short-term limited-duration insurance to three months, opening the door to year-long (and renewable) “skinny” plans that skip ACA protections.
Read at The Washington Post →
American Hospital Association
May 2025Agencies pause enforcement of the 2024 mental health parity final rule
Federal agencies announced they will not enforce the parts of the 2024 MHPAEA final rule that tightened standards around nonquantitative treatment limitations on mental health and substance use benefits. Enrollees may see less aggressive parity oversight in 2026.
Read at American Hospital Association →