Obamacare sign-ups open with higher premiums

The yearly sign-up period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, opened on Sunday in most states, and shoppers are facing higher prices and fewer choices for 2027 coverage.

Premiums for the benchmark silver plans used to calculate federal financial help are expected to rise about 13% on average, according to analyses of insurers' filings by the health policy group KFF. People must enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage that starts on Jan. 1, and the sign-up period runs to mid-January in most states.

The extra federal subsidies that lowered premiums for millions of people in recent years have expired. Standard tax credits are still available for many enrollees and generally rise along with benchmark premiums, but people with higher incomes, above four times the federal poverty level, no longer qualify for help and must pay the full price. Experts say those buyers will feel the increases most.

Some insurers have left markets or narrowed their networks, leaving fewer options in many areas. New rules also add stricter checks at enrollment and limit tax credits for some immigrants. The Trump administration has removed hundreds of thousands of people from coverage over what it says were improper or fraudulent enrollments.

Enrollment had already fallen this year from its 2025 peak, and analysts expect the number of people with marketplace coverage to drop further.