ICYMI: Many ACA Customers Are Paying Higher Premiums. Most Blame Trump and Republicans, Poll Finds
MADISON, Wis. — Last week, new KFF polling found that most Affordable Care Act customers blame Trump and Republicans like Bryan Steil, Tom Tiffany, and Derrick Van Orden for their higher premium costs. The poll also found that Republican slashes to healthcare caused about 9% of Americans to forgo enrolling in the ACA this year, leaving them uninsured, and that more than half of people placed blame for this loss on congressional Republicans. These findings indicate trouble for Wisconsin Republicans like Bryan Steil, Tom Tiffany, and Derrick Van Orden who will all have to defend why they are more willing to give tax breaks to billionaires than they are to ensure affordable health care for their constituents.
KFF Health News: Many ACA Customers Are Paying Higher Premiums. Most Blame Trump and Republicans, Poll Finds.
By: Julie Appleby | 3/19/26
- Most people who get their health coverage through the Affordable Care Act say they face sharply higher costs, with many worried they will have to pare back other expenses to cover them, according to a poll released Thursday. Some are uncertain whether they will be able to continue paying their premiums all year.
- Still, 69% of those enrolled last year signed up again this year, often for less generous coverage. About 9% said they had to forgo insurance, according to the survey by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
- The KFF poll revisited the people who responded to a November KFF survey of Affordable Care Act enrollees during open enrollment for ACA plans.
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- In the November survey, many respondents were not sure what they would do for their health insurance in the coming year.
- Some were waiting to see whether Congress would extend the enhanced premium subsidies, which had helped many people get lower-cost — or even zero-cost — health premiums.
- Congress’ inaction left some consumers in a bind.
- Now, the new poll found, affordability issues are hitting home as the midterm election approaches. And that might play a role in competitive districts, creating headwinds for Republicans.
- Across all respondents who were registered to vote, the poll found more than half place “a lot” of blame for rising costs on Republicans in Congress (54%), with a similar share putting the same level of blame on President Donald Trump (53%). A smaller group placed a lot of the blame on congressional Democrats (34%). Among independents, a group expected to be a key factor in many districts, the percentages putting a lot of the blame on the GOP (56%) and Trump (58%) were higher.
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- “Those who have marketplace coverage, who remained on it, they’re really struggling with health care costs,” said Lunna Lopes, senior survey manager for KFF.
- While more than half (55%) of returning ACA enrollees said they will have to pare back on other household expenses to cover health care costs, about 17% said they might not be able to continue paying insurance premiums throughout the year.
- Overall, 80% of those who reenrolled for 2026 said their premiums, deductibles, or other costs are higher this year than last, with 51% saying they are “a lot higher.”
- About three-quarters of ACA enrollees in the survey who were registered voters said the cost of health care will have an impact on their decision to vote — and on which party’s candidate they support.
- Democrats were more than twice as likely as Republicans to say those costs will have a major impact on their decision.
- “Democrats seem particularly more energized by health care costs than their Republican counterparts,” Lopes said.
- Data released Jan. 28 by federal officials showed that about 23 million people enrolled in Obamacare plans across the federal healthcare.gov marketplace and those run by states, about 1.2 million fewer than in 2025.
- But it isn’t yet known how many are paying their monthly premiums on time, and many analysts expect overall enrollment numbers to fall as that data becomes available in the coming months.
- For most people, having to pay more for premiums this year was mainly due to the expiration of the enhanced tax cuts, pollsters noted. Because the subsidies that remain are less generous, households have to pay more of their income toward coverage. Congressional inaction also meant the restoration of an income cap for subsidies at four times the poverty level, or $62,600 for an individual, sticking people like Davis with higher bills.
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- The poll highlighted that many people dropping coverage were younger, between 18 and 29. About 14% of people in that range now say they are uninsured.
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