Marketplace insurance rates expected to spike in Ohio

The approximately 583,000 people in Ohio who buy health insurance from the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace can expect to see their premiums increase substantially in 2026 (Source: “Buying health insurance on the ACA marketplace? Prepare for Ohio premiums to go up – by quite a bit,” Signal Cleveland, Aug. 25). 
 
The 11 companies that sell health insurance to Ohio individuals on the federal marketplace are proposing a median premium increase of about 18% for 2026 – more than double the jump requested in recent years. 
 
“It’s going to be a shock to some people in 2026 when they see what their premiums are increasing to,” said Brian O’Rourke, a healthcare policy analyst at the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. “And if people drop their coverage, there may not be good options to find elsewhere.”
 
Since the federal marketplace began in 2014, the federal government has given tax credits as a financial incentive for residents to sign up for insurance on the marketplace. During the COVID pandemic, Congress and the Biden administration made those credits more generous and did away with income limits on who could receive them. 
 
Since then, the number of Ohio residents enrolled in health plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace has skyrocketed. In 2024, about 480,000 people enrolled – a more than 50% increase from the year before. About 88% of those enrolled received tax credits, according to the health policy organization KFF. 
 
The COVID-era tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. It is still possible for Congress to decide to prolong the tax credits, but Republicans appear split on whether to do so.
 
Last week, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a new fact sheet that outlines major federal and Ohio healthcare access and affordability policy changes.

The document provides a high-level summary of several provisions of HR 1, the federal reconciliation bill sometimes referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” along with information about related changes contained in HB 96, the state biennial budget bill.