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Jilly_in_VA

(14,332 posts)
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 01:30 PM 15 hrs ago

What ACA enrollees are cutting back on to afford health care, according to a new poll

Lately, Priscilla Brown has had to choose between properly managing her Type 2 diabetes and affording other necessities, like gas in her car. Some days, she takes half or a third of her prescribed insulin dose — just to stretch it out longer.

“Sometimes I don’t even take my medicine,” said the 48-year-old truck dispatcher in Orlando, Florida. “It’s so much with insurance, it’s crazy.”

About 8 in 10 Americans, like Brown, who re-enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage say their health care costs are higher this year, including about half who say their costs are “a lot” higher, according to a new survey from the health care research nonprofit KFF. A main reason for increased costs was the Dec. 31 expiration of enhanced tax credits that had offset premiums for most enrollees.

For Brown and others, those spiking costs are having real impacts on daily life. Of the 1,117 Americans surveyed who had ACA marketplace coverage in 2025, including those who dropped coverage or changed plans, about 55% said they’re planning to deal with health care costs by cutting spending on food and other basic household needs.

Democrats in Congress last year had fought to keep the COVID-era subsidies but faced pushback from Republican leadership. In January, momentum toward a bipartisan compromise fell apart — leaving some 23 million ACA enrollees without relief as they faced higher premiums or made tough decisions to disenroll or downgrade plans.

https://apnews.com/article/health-costs-trump-poll-affordable-care-act-4dbaa457c20348338533f05679d604bf

Further proving that we are now a second world country

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What ACA enrollees are cutting back on to afford health care, according to a new poll (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA 15 hrs ago OP
Yet Hegseth wants $200 billion to make more war. Diamond_Dog 15 hrs ago #1
There's always plenty of money for war MustLoveBeagles 12 hrs ago #5
Can't judge the success of a country if the billionaires are just getting richer and the poor people have to scratch Walleye 14 hrs ago #2
Air, water... 617Blue 13 hrs ago #3
Im sure she appreciates Dems caving in November so TDay travelers didnt have a long line Arazi 13 hrs ago #4
DURec leftstreet 12 hrs ago #6
I think perhaps the term is 3rd world, area51 11 hrs ago #7

Walleye

(44,630 posts)
2. Can't judge the success of a country if the billionaires are just getting richer and the poor people have to scratch
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 02:29 PM
14 hrs ago

Richer rich people do not make for a successful nation

Arazi

(8,874 posts)
4. Im sure she appreciates Dems caving in November so TDay travelers didnt have a long line
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 03:46 PM
13 hrs ago

Worth it, amiright?!




(I’m one of those whose currently unable to afford any health insurance - forced to cancel coverage on Jan 1)

area51

(12,666 posts)
7. I think perhaps the term is 3rd world,
Thu Mar 19, 2026, 05:26 PM
11 hrs ago

as originally 2nd world countries were communist ones. But the baseline of a developed country is to give citizens return on their taxes, such as healthcare coverage. jmho

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