Most Americans can expect significantly higher monthly health insurance costs next year across workplace plans, the Affordable Care Act, and Medicare, driven by escalating medical expenses, hospital care, and expensive prescription drugs like GLP-1 weight-loss medications. Insurers offering ACA plans are proposing an average premium increase of about 15% for 2027, following a 20% average increase in 2026. This comes as the marketplace continues adjusting to the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies at the end of 2025, which previously lowered middle-class premiums and whose expiration led to an enrollment drop of about 3 million people. On Thursday, the White House promised $500 rebate checks to an estimated 1 million ACA enrollees allegedly overcharged, though experts say it offers little relief compared to surging premiums. Meanwhile, roughly 165 million workers with job-based insurance may face higher costs as employers anticipate health benefit expenses rising 8.2% on average in 2027, the largest increase since 2003 according to a Marsh survey, prompting many companies to push costs onto employees through increased premiums, higher deductibles, or slower wage growth. For the roughly 70 million people on Medicare, baseline monthly costs for Part D prescription drug coverage are projected to rise about 6% in 2027 to $41.33, following the Trump administration’s termination of a temporary federal program that previously helped restrain premium hikes.
Source: nbcnews.com
