The roughly 583,000 Ohioans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will soon face steep cost increases plus deep cuts to a popular tax credit that helps pay for most of those premiums, new data show.
In other words, Affordable Care Act monthly premiums will cost more, and nearly 9 in 10 of people who enroll will have to pay a much greater share of the total cost of health insurance.
Premiums for marketplace plans sold in Ohio are set to increase between 13% and 17% in 2026, new marketplace data from KFF researchers show. The researchers there analyzed data for a 40-year-old person seeking coverage in each Ohio county.
| Plan type | New monthly premium | Increase from 2025 |
| Bronze | $400 | $47 |
| Silver | $513 | $76 |
| Benchmark | $513 | $72 |
| Gold | $548 | $72 |
That figure is just the premium insurers charge. Almost 90% of people covered by the ACA marketplace plans receive a subsidy, which varies in size by income, location and age.
The subsidies become much stingier, and in some cases disappear, at the end of the year unless Congress acts. The issue has hit a fever pitch as open enrollment begins. Democrats in the U.S. Senate have refused to support a federal spending package unless Republicans address the expiring subsidies, which has led to the 29-day and counting government shutdown.
The biggest cost increase falls on those who buy silver plans, the most popular ones on the ACA marketplace. Those plans are increasing in cost by $76 per month to $513. That’s a 17% increase.
The bronze plans, which offer skimpier coverage, increase by a more modest 13%.
Open enrollment for ACA plans begins Nov. 1, with changes kicking in at the new year.