What Health Insurance Actually Costs in 2026: Premium Data From KFF and CMS
Family employer coverage now averages $26,993 a year, marketplace premiums jumped 26%, and enrollee payments rose 58% after enhanced subsidies expired. Here is what the 2026 data says coverage really costs.
A family health insurance plan through work now costs more than many new cars. According to KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage reached $26,993 — up 6% in a single year. And for the roughly 23 million people who buy their own coverage on the ACA marketplace, 2026 brought the sharpest cost shock in the program's history: insurers raised sticker-price premiums 26% on average, and after the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, the amount enrollees actually pay out of pocket rose 58%, per KFF's May 2026 analysis of federal enrollment data.
If you are trying to figure out what coverage should cost you this year — through an employer, on the marketplace, or somewhere in between — here is what the verified numbers say.
Key statistics at a glance
- $9,325 — average annual premium for employer single coverage in 2025 (KFF, 2025)
- 26% — average increase in ACA marketplace sticker premiums for 2026; 30% in HealthCare.gov states, 17% in state-run marketplaces (KFF, 2025)
- $5.3 trillion — total US health spending in 2024, or $15,474 per person, 18.0% of GDP (CMS Office of the Actuary, 2025)
Employer coverage: $27K for a family, but workers pay a fraction
Most working-age Americans still get coverage through a job — 69% of adults 18–64 had private coverage in 2025, according to CDC National Health Interview Survey data. KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the benchmark study of job-based coverage, puts the average annual premium at $9,325 for single coverage (up 5% from 2024) and $26,993 for family coverage (up 6%).
The reason employer coverage feels cheaper than it is: employers absorb most of the bill. Workers contributed an average of $1,440 a year for single coverage (16% of the premium) and $6,850 for family coverage (26% of the premium) in 2025, per KFF. That works out to roughly $120 a month for an individual and about $571 a month for a family — while the true underlying cost of the family plan is nearly $2,250 a month.
Cost sharing keeps climbing too. The average single-coverage deductible was $1,886 in 2025, and 34% of covered workers now face deductibles of $2,000 or more, per KFF. Over the past five years, family premiums rose 26% — roughly in line with cumulative wage growth (28.6%) and ahead of cumulative inflation (23.5%), though 2025's 6% increase more than doubled that year's 2.7% inflation rate.
Marketplace 2026: the year the enhanced subsidies expired
The biggest story in health insurance costs this year is on the individual market. The enhanced premium tax credits created by the American Rescue Plan in 2021 — which capped premiums as a share of income and extended help above 400% of the poverty line — expired at the end of 2025. Two things happened at once for 2026:
- Sticker prices jumped. Insurers raised gross marketplace premiums by an estimated 26% on average for 2026 — the largest increase in years — including 30% in the 28-plus states using HealthCare.gov and 17% in state-based marketplaces, according to KFF. Insurers cited rising medical costs and the expectation that healthier enrollees would drop coverage once subsidies shrank.
- Subsidies shrank. With only the original ACA tax credits remaining, the average net premium — what enrollees actually pay after subsidies — rose from $113 per month in 2025 to $178 per month in 2026, a 58% increase, per KFF's analysis of CMS enrollment data. That is painful, but notably less than the 114% increase KFF had projected if everyone kept identical plans. Millions of people blunted the hit by switching to cheaper coverage.
That plan-switching shows up clearly in the data. Bronze plans went from 30% of marketplace enrollment in 2025 to 40% in 2026, while silver enrollment fell from 57% to 43%, per KFF. The trade-off: the average marketplace deductible surged from $2,759 to $3,786 — a $1,027 (37%) one-year increase that KFF calls the steepest ever recorded in this market. Cheaper monthly premiums, in other words, were partly an illusion paid for with higher exposure when care is actually needed.
Even so, subsidies did not disappear. In 2026, 87% of marketplace consumers still receive a premium tax credit, down from 92% in 2025, according to KFF. If your income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, meaningful help is still on the table — which is why running your numbers before assuming coverage is unaffordable matters more this year than ever. Our team can walk you through current marketplace options and subsidy estimates for your household.
Employer vs. marketplace: what enrollees actually pay
The table below compares the most recent verified figures for each market. Employer figures are 2025 (KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey); marketplace figures are 2026 (KFF analysis of CMS data).
| Measure | Employer coverage (2025) | ACA marketplace (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Total premium, single | $9,325/year (~$777/month) | Varies; sticker prices up 26% for 2026 |
| What the enrollee pays, single | $1,440/year (~$120/month) | $178/month average after subsidies (~$2,136/year) |
| What the enrollee pays, family | $6,850/year (~$571/month) | Per-person subsidy math; no employer contribution |
| Average deductible (single) | $1,886 | $3,786 |
| Who pays the rest | Employer (84% single, 74% family) | Premium tax credits, for the 87% who qualify |
Two takeaways. First, a subsidized marketplace plan can still be competitive with a worker's share of employer coverage — $178 a month on average versus $120 for employer single coverage — though the marketplace deductible is now roughly double. Second, for anyone without access to employer coverage, the subsidy question dominates everything: whether you qualify for a premium tax credit matters more to your bottom line than which insurer you pick.
Enrollment is falling, and the uninsured rate is expected to follow
Marketplace sign-ups fell from a record 24.3 million for 2025 to 23.1 million for 2026, with declines in 41 states, according to KFF. More concerning is who is actually keeping coverage: KFF projects effectuated enrollment — people who pay their premiums and stay covered — will fall to roughly 17.5 million in 2026, down from 22.3 million in 2025, a loss of nearly 5 million people. Young adults 18–34 accounted for 46% of the sign-up decline, and people just above the restored 400%-of-poverty subsidy cliff made up 7% of 2025 enrollment but 48% of the drop.
For now, the national uninsured rate is holding: 8.3% of Americans (28.0 million people) lacked coverage in 2025, statistically unchanged from 2024, per the CDC's National Health Interview Survey released in May 2026. But that survey predates the 2026 subsidy expiration's full effect, and the enrollment data above suggests the number is headed up.
All of this sits against an enormous backdrop: US health spending hit $5.3 trillion in 2024 — $15,474 per person and 18.0% of GDP, growing 7.2% for the year — according to the CMS Office of the Actuary. Premiums are ultimately a pass-through of that underlying spending, which is why they keep outrunning general inflation.
Five moves that lower what you pay in 2026
- Re-check your subsidy before assuming you don't qualify. 87% of marketplace enrollees still receive tax credits (KFF, 2026). Income between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level generally qualifies.
- Don't auto-renew. The 58%-vs-114% gap in KFF's data is the measurable value of shopping: enrollees who switched plans cut their premium increase roughly in half compared with standing pat.
- If your income is under 250% of poverty, price silver plans first. Cost-sharing reductions — which shrink deductibles dramatically — only attach to silver plans, yet just 45% of eligible HealthCare.gov enrollees chose a CSR plan in 2026, down from 66% in 2025, per KFF. Many people chasing a cheap bronze premium left significant deductible help on the table.
- Weigh the deductible, not just the premium. The average 2026 marketplace deductible is $3,786 (KFF). A bronze plan that saves $60 a month but adds $2,500 of deductible only wins if you stay healthy.
- If you're between jobs or above the subsidy cliff, compare every market. Employer COBRA, marketplace plans, and private health insurance options price very differently at the same income. A 30-minute comparison is worth hundreds of dollars a month at 2026 rates — you can start a quote here.
Where costs go from here
Nothing in the 2026 data suggests premiums are about to flatten. Underlying health spending grew 7.2% in 2024 (CMS), employer premiums rose 6% in 2025 (KFF), and insurers priced 2026 marketplace plans for a smaller, sicker risk pool. Congress could still restore some version of the enhanced credits — proposals continue to circulate — but households should plan around the rules as they stand: verify your subsidy, shop annually, and buy the deductible you can actually afford to hit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does health insurance cost per month in 2026?
It depends heavily on the market. Workers with employer single coverage paid about $120 a month on average in 2025 (with employers covering the rest of a $777/month premium), per KFF. On the ACA marketplace, the average enrollee pays $178 a month in 2026 after subsidies, up from $113 in 2025, according to KFF's analysis of CMS data.
Why did ACA marketplace premiums go up so much in 2026?
Two forces stacked. Insurers raised sticker prices an average of 26% for 2026, citing medical cost growth and an expected sicker risk pool, per KFF. At the same time, the enhanced premium tax credits from the American Rescue Plan expired at the end of 2025, shrinking subsidies — so enrollees' actual payments rose 58% on average even after many switched to cheaper plans.
Are ACA subsidies still available in 2026?
Yes. The original ACA premium tax credits remain in place for households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, and 87% of 2026 marketplace consumers receive one, per KFF — down only modestly from 92% in 2025. What expired was the enhanced-credit layer that made subsidies larger and extended them above 400% of poverty.
How many Americans are uninsured right now?
The CDC's National Health Interview Survey found 8.3% of Americans — about 28.0 million people — were uninsured in 2025, statistically unchanged from 2024. However, KFF projects marketplace enrollment will drop by nearly 5 million people in 2026 after the subsidy expiration, so the uninsured rate is widely expected to rise.
Sources
- KFF — 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey (2025)
- KFF — What We Know So Far About 2026 ACA Marketplace Enrollment, Premiums, and Deductibles (2026)
- KFF — ACA Insurers Are Raising Premiums by an Estimated 26% (2025)
- Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker — How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going Up in 2026 (2025)
- CMS — National Health Expenditure Data, Historical (2024 figures, released 2025)
- Health Affairs — National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 Percent In 2024 (2025)
- CDC/NCHS — U.S. Uninsured Rate Unchanged in 2025 (2026)