Insurance premiums are expected to rise for a second straight year in 2027.
Middle-income Americans are already straining to pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance, and they are unlikely to get relief next year, according to a new analysis that shows insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second straight year of double-digit premium hikes.
Affordable Care Act insurers have submitted their proposed rates to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, with the final numbers to be released October 1.
"The proposed rates for people who are buying insurance on their own range right now from the proposed rates are from 10% to around 13% increases," Julia Dreier, Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, says.
The department doesn't set the rates. Rather, they review the information submitted by insurers to determine if the increase is justified.
Dreier says she expects premiums to rise, which will put a strain on those already facing financial hardships.
"It's certainly hard for Minnesotans," she adds. "Health insurance isn't a luxury, and it's something that families and people need and rely on to access care and protect themselves from financial hardship."
The Minnesota Department of Commerce is reviewing the proposals submitted by Affordable Care Act insurers. The departments may deny proposed rates or require insurers to modify them (down or up) if the departments determine that they are excessive or inadequate for the benefits offered.
"It's a combination of things," says Dreier. "That's some of what we'll be looking at over the summer as we're reviewing the rates to better understand what's going into the increases this year. Rates are going up because that cost of providing that care is going up, so prescription drugs are more expensive. It's more expensive to see your doctor or the hospital. All of that contributes."
During the review process, Minnesotans can submit public comments here.
Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.
The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF.
While most Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees who don’t get those subsidies will face an especially stark increase in costs. That group includes households with incomes at or above 400% of the poverty level — about $63,000 per year for an individual or $129,000 for a family of four.
The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans’ existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with November’s midterm elections looming.
Insurers cite rising costs and a smaller, sicker covered population
Health insurers must send filings to regulators every year, explaining what they expect to see in premium rate changes for individual market health plans for the coming year.
Next year’s rates will be finalized later in the summer, but KFF’s analysis looked at those in the ACA marketplace that already are public across 16 states and Washington, D.C., to get an early glimpse at what insurers are saying. The report measured insurers’ premium increases as an average across all types of plans — bronze, silver, gold and platinum.
The analysis found that insurers listed rising costs across the healthcare sector — from hospital visits to prescription drugs, the workforce and sicker patients — as the biggest cause of rising premiums. Overall inflation contributed to that pressure, driving prices higher across the entire economy.
