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No.
The amount some pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance will double when enhanced subsidies expire, but there isn’t evidence the number is 20 million.
KFF, a health policy nonprofit, estimates monthly payments for Obamacare recipients will increase, on average, $1,016 – more than doubling, from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.
That counts increases to premiums and lost subsidies.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, citing KFF, made the 20 million claim. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Sanders was wrong.
KFF doesn’t say how many of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees will see premiums double.
But 2 to 3 million people on the high end of income eligibility would lose all enhanced subsidies. About half could see premium payments double or triple.
Enhanced subsidies, created in 2021, expire Dec. 31. Some Obamacare enrollees will receive lower enhanced subsidies or none. Standard subsidies remain.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- KFF: ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Would More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders: Email
- KFF: Email
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Health Insurance Exchanges 2025 Open Enrollment Report
- The Journalist's Resource: The battle over Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies: What to know as open enrollment looms
- NBC News: What the government shutdown's end means for Obamacare subsidies
- PolitiFact: Fact-checking Democrats’ talking points about Affordable Care Act subsidies
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