Health insurance rates will increase sharply for the 4 million-plus Floridians who rely on so-called Obamacare plans or small employer health insurance coverage in the coming weeks, according to data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
The OIR reported late last month that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, Florida health plans had been approved for double-digit increases in monthly premiums people pay for the individual policies sold on the federal health insurance exchange (healthcare.gov). Florida leads the nation in the number of people enrolled in the exchange.
This year, a 28-year-old single individual living in Flagler County, making $34,000 a year, and enrolled through an average silver plan in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, is paying $181 and receiving a federal subsidy of $369. In 2026, the same individual will be paying a $368 premium, a 103 percent increase, according to OIR.
For a family of four with a household income of $85,000 in Flagler County, the monthly premium for an average silver plan will rise to 1,192, from $680, a 75 percent increase. The federal subsidy this year was $1,390. It’s increasing only to $1,554, while the monthly average total premium cost is rising from $2,070 to $2,747, or 33 percent.
Insurance companies offering ACA coverage in Flagler County are also fewer in 2026 than in 2025. This year, providers included Aetna, Amerihealth Caritas Florida, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Florida Health Care, Health First Commercial Plans, Health Options Inc., Oscar Insurance, and United Healthcare.
Aetna and Amerihealth Caritas Florida are no longer providing ACA coverage in Flagler this year.
Similarly, a 28-year old adult living in Duval County earning $35,000 annually and enrolled in a silver-level individual health insurance plan may pay $281 a month starting Jan. 1, up from $149 now. In Flagler County, the individual would pay
Premiums for a family of four earning $85,000 in Duval County will increase to $864 a month after tax credits in 2026, up from $558.
A 28-year-old- living in Miami-Dade County could pay a $322 monthly premium; premiums for such a person in Hillsborough County could total $298 a month. Family premiums in those counties will be $1,019 a month and $932 a month, respectively.
Rates in rural counties will be even higher. Okeechobee County has the dubious distinction of facing the highest premiums in the state: A family of four could pay $1,630 a month and an individual $484 a month.
The OIR posted the information “for illustrative purposes only” on Aug. 25 but did not otherwise publicly announce that it was available online for people to review in advance of open enrollment for 2026 coverage, which starts Nov. 1.
“Posting them on our website is making them public,” OIR spokesperson Kylie Mason told the Florida Phoenix in an email.
The increases in the costs of coverage — coupled with reductions to Medicaid in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill) and programmatic changes to the ACA — could increase the number of uninsured residents in the state by as many as 730,000 in the next 10 years, a KFF analysis shows.
Most of those people, 500,000, could become uninsured because of changes to Obamacare — formally the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — and the elimination of enhanced advanced premiums tax credits first made available in 2021 to further lower out-of-pocket costs for people in “silver” level plans.
If the enhanced advance premium tax credits expire, the number of uninsured residents in Florida could increase by another 1.2 million people, the same KFF analysis indicates. Those additional tax payments for co-payments and deductibles are set to expire at the end of the year. The Florida Hospital Association and other organizations want Congress to extend them.
“We’re approaching a healthcare cliff right now,” Florida Decides Healthcare spokesperson Karol Molinares told the Florida Phoenix. The organization is pushing a ballot initiative to place Medicaid expansion before the voters.
“That means ERs being clogged up, people not being able to see their primary-care doctors, uncompensated care. Costs for hospitals are going to skyrocket, which the state is going to be on the hook for. You’re also going to have 50,000 medical jobs that are going to be lost. It’s a whole chain reaction.”
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The rate increases affect small-employer coverage, too, because the ACA requires certain benefits and coverage to be included in the health plans small employers offer their staffs.
The rate increases for small businesses aren’t as great as those for individuals and therefore the premium increases aren’t as severe, but remain substantive. The OIR data show costs rising from an average $728 per individual in 2025 to $821 in 2026.
Although Republicans in Florida have not expanded Medicaid to lower-income childless adults, as the ACA allows, the federal health law is popular with residents who annually have flocked to the marketplace for health coverage.
The health exchanges represent a key component of the law, which changed how health insurance can be priced. The law bans insurance companies from medically underwriting the policies and allows rates to be based on four factors only: age, tobacco use, geographic location, and family size.
Eighteen companies write in the state’s individual health insurance market, including the Community Care Network, a Department of Veterans Affairs health plan providing care outside of VA facilities that operates in Broward County only.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, operating under the Florida Blue moniker, offer policies across Florida’s 67 counties. Its affiliate, Health Options, provides HMO coverage in 64 counties. Centene Venture Co. Florida, meanwhile, is offered in 63 counties.
The OIR released 2026 county breakdowns of potential premiums for a 28-year-old individual earning $35,000 annually and potential premiums for a family of four earning $85,000. (Note: The 2025 county breakdowns showed premiums for individuals earning $34,000 and families of four earning $84,000.)
The OIR examples illustrate the costs of plans as well as costs after the advanced premium tax credits that reduce premiums. The numbers are based on the silver-level health insurance policy, the only plan that qualifies enrollees for additional credits to lower out-of-pocket costs.
Florida is not alone in these rate hikes — insurers nationwide are filing double-digit increases. A KFF review of marketplace plans submitted by 312 insurers in 50 states and the District of Columbia shows that the median proposed increase for 2026 is 18%, more than double last year’s 7% median proposed increase.
Insurers cited rising costs, utilization of services, and the loss of enhanced advanced premium tax benefits as reasons behind the rate increases, according to KFF.
Medicaid expansion needed
According to the most recent OIR data, most people in Florida who purchased health insurance policies in 2023 bought individual coverage on the federal health insurance exchange.The 2023 data show that more than 5.8 million people maintained commercial health insurance policies, and most of those people, 3.6 million-plus, had individual health insurance.
Nearly 1.8 million people had large-group plans — those sold to businesses with more than 51 employees. Small group policies insured another 400,164 lives in 2023.
The soaring rates, Molinares said, underscore the need for Florida to expand Medicaid to low-income, childless adults, Molinares said.
“I think Medicaid expansion is the last tool in the tool box to avoid a healthcare cliff that we are barrelling toward if the ACA tax credits don’t get renewed,” she said.
–Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix, and FlaglerLive
R.S. says
Like all developed countries, this nation should have a single-payer system as an alternative to the for-profit healthcare systems. Medical care would become far less expensive for individuals and governmental agencies could negotiate lower prices with the pharmacological corporations. Just one example: Jardiance, a newly developed medication for some cases of chronic kidney disease, is developed by Boehringer/Ingelheim and is still under patent protection: it costs for a monthly supply in Europe €200, in the US $700, and in Canada $120. Europe has generally a nationally administered insurance alternative; Canada has a single-payer system; however, our dealmaker in command hasn’t managed to bring medical prices down; instead he’s made them more expensive by adding the tariffs.
Shark says
There is nothing to worry about. Soon we will have that beautiful trump care that he promised in the first few days of his first term!!
What else can ya do in a world leading first world economy says
Healthcare in this country is the pits at best. I am currently uninsured, have been for the past few years now. Honestly, I just hope for no emergency needs, and I figure medical tourism – maybe – for larger planned procedures. But I duno, I try not to think about it. I just eat right, exercise, go to work, and wake up each day hoping for the best.
R.S. says
Vote for the Progressives; forget the Dems and the GOP.
A says
So much for the “Affordable ” Care Act.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Voting republican is not in your best interests anymore, especially your health.
Steve says
Its what folks Voted for Good luck. Im all set
Laurel says
So, where is that ten years too late “concept of a plan”? The Republicans have been trying to kill the ACA from the get go, and bit by bit, they are succeeding. Sure don’t want no black dude to get credit.
Happy now?
T says
Thank Republicans
Deborah Coffey says
Single payer needed ASAP! For one thing, when all the anti-vaxxers get seriously ill they won’t be able to get help for themselves or their children. The current healthcare system in the U.S. is a disgrace.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Hospitals cant turn you away if your really sick! If you cant pay it wont affect your credit score anymore.
Jason says
As someone that received government healthcare while in military, I can tell you that everyone demanding single payer healthcare isn’t prepared for the lack of quality care you will receive. You think waiting months for an appointment now sucks? Wait til you waited 6 months and the doctor gives you 5 minutes and tells you to just drink more water and take some Motrin.
Healthcare could be made free but that doesn’t do you a whole lot of good when it’s rationed to the point that you die waiting. The government also cannot just magically create doctors and medical staff out of thin air. Those doctors deserve to earn a salary commiserate with the education and training we require for them to provide care that isn’t labeled as malpractice. You think everyone just works for free?
I don’t think anyone has actually looked at the entire system from bottom up to understand ALL the factors involved and how socializing parts of it will harm others.
Mike P says
Shark… the facts are that after 15 years, Obamacare is a failure. They promised it would bring down the costs of healthcare, but costs have exploded. Premiums are up. Deductibles are up. Spending is up.
JimboXYZ says
Silver plan has long been an inflated premium. Under Biden-Harris it was $ 1007.00/month & that was a direct premium to Oscar Health Insurance. And then they got greedier & raised that another $ 30/month. Oscar did nothing but pay the network of physicians & specialists for the time I had Oscar. Obamacare has been an insurance scam for the last dozen plus years that it’s been implemented. The same folks that brought us Covid in their labs and research on Gain of Function for a virus. We have Advent that built a cancer facility/campus. Drive by it on SR-100, empty parking lot, someone has to pay for that new facility, it won’t be Advent. I’d love to see transparency in the numbers, since grand opening, anyone ever been treated at the facility ? What are the staffing numbers, the breakdown on the costs of the medical devices in that building ? That was all a part of this grow Palm Coast/Flagler County of he last 5 years, that wonderful vision of 2050 & a more unaffordable America than ever before. My point isn’t to blame a single healthcare insurer (which really is looking like a healthcare uninsurer). The entire industry is pretty much blame worthy. Some uninsureds have to be hanging as uninsured & close enough to Medicare, Social Security & anything else that will help them get thru their end of life ? No wonder Elon Musk said Social Security was for chumps. It looks good to the masses that end up settling for a low ball. And the Bidenomics of it all was hyper inflation. Created nothing more than a subsidy dependent recipient America. Trump or anyone has their work cut out for them for the 4 years Biden-Harris sandbagged the system.
As ” What else can ya do in a world leading first world economy says” put it is exactly what anyone can do. Go without, find ways to make ends meet for what anyone needs for healthcare. Do anything you can to avoid health issues. The insurance companies deny claims & negotiate, meanwhile the insured policy holders suffer thru that denial process with their healthcare needs. And it doesn’t get any better when the grow & overpopulation brings the pollution & disease to be stacked on top of each other & overcrowded. Healthcare created new products decades ago, HMO, PPO & anything else that was reduction of service to get cheap on the masses. Too many go into debt for the premium alone, then there’s the out of pocket for what the legal document of the policy doesn’t cover. And that’s worse than the premium itself. Anyone paying even $ 322/month will be paying triple that for the inflation. And they haven’t seen “their doctor” for a single thing. Haven’t visited their dentist or eye specialist. The premium is nothing more than a hefty retainer that a lawyer would charge for doing NOTHING ! And then they cut corners trying to weasle out of it for a claim denial, getting as cheap as possible for a temporary solution that the time bomb eventually requires a repair of the procedure. If you’ve ever dealt with any insurance company, that’s always the process.
Atwp says
Greed and don’t care is the name of the game.
Pierre Tristam says
Doesn’t appear as if Jason has heard of Medicare, the single-payer system that works better than anything we have in place now. Single-payer should not be confused with socialized medicine. Single payer doesn’t create doctors out of thin air. It just gives you the ability to see whom you please, as your employer provided health care plan does not, as Obamacare does not, as VA care, which is targeted single payer, does not.
Laurel says
Republicans have been whittling away ACA for over a decade now, and the predictable folks say “see, it’s no good.” That like me, inheriting a car from Mike P., and totaling it, and claiming it’s his fault. Come on people, get real.
Medicare, a government program, is remarkably well done, and should be a single payer system. Hubby and I are on straight Medicare, and the care we get is amazing! We are established patients at Mayo Clinic, each have a “Care Team” that follows our health status, and gets us in as needed. We see a Medicare nurse once a year, and our doctors twice a year, and should we have a problem in between, we see a physician’s assistant. The physician’s assistants, at Mayo, are top notch. A patient needs to be on time, checking in 15 mins early, and is sent right in on time. The doctor sees you as long as needed, and always asks you if you have any more questions. No ushering out the door. They are excellent at taking the time to learn your problem, and making you comfortable. The doctor prescribes any tests required, and you are scheduled right there and then. Some tests are in house at our primary, and some require a trip to Jacksonville. To top it off, it doesn’t break the bank, and we have our favored doctors for over a decade now. How is that bad?
I will tell you again, that Mayo does not take Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare! Please, if you are going to be new to Medicare, check that out ahead of time. Do some research; it’s really important how it will effect you. Know that Medicare Advantage is private insurance. So, now you will see advertisements that there is a threat to Medicare Advantage. That’s private industry misleading you to believe you will lose Medicare. It’s very disingenuous.
Please, it’s your health. Learn the facts. My point here is, Medicare is an excellent program and should be available to everyone. Don’t let people fool you.
Greg says
Idea, let’s talk about Medicare prices going up
john stove says
Dont worry…Trumpo and the Republican morons will save us with their plan…..whats that you say? what is the plan?…we dont know because while dismantling healthcare piece by piece they haven’t spoken of one or even submitted a concept of one!!
I understand because after all they are focusing on issues that really really matter like new ballrooms, new rose garden, illegally sending Federal troops to cities, doing illegal things and losing in court…..
Imbeciles led by the worst President in the history of the US. They will be teaching this in schools for years!
Jason says
@Pierre, so we are still using “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor”? You and I both know, or should, that most people wanting single payer or socialized healthcare don’t actually know the technical differences. So attempting to make a point on those technical meanings falls short on most.
You also seem to not be that informed on how Medicare billing works and the harms it has on the actual providers and their employees. There is a reason a lot of physicians don’t want to accept Medicare patients and it’s not because they want to defraud the government. I encourage you to interview multiple independent providers a not just large organizations like Advent to understand how the system works and how it actually impacts your level and availability of care.
And lastly, you again are misinformed on veterans and VA care not being able to see doctors on the open market. Please do more research on that before spreading misinformation to your readers and potentially impacting a veterans care decisions because you want to win an argument that doesn’t actually exist.
This is reality says
I’m paying almost $400 a month for Medicare, retired on social security. That’s for part A, which is taken directly out of your social security benefit off the top by the government, before you even receive the social security funds. Then you have to have part B AND a drug plan whether you use pharmaceutical medications or not. You can elect to go the cheap way and elect to get a part B low-grade plan, which requires pre-authorization for procedures, surgeries, MRIs, etc as well as for seeing a specialist. OR you can go the expensive way which is today is around $240 a month. That’s where $400/month comes from for Medicare coverage. Then you have to have part D, the drug plan, whether you want it or use it or not. The drug plan is required by the government and if you don’t sign up for it, you get financially penalized until you die. Even if you sign up late because you didn’t know it was required by the federal government. Tack the cost of that onto your monthly Medicare coverage. If you’re working and bringing in a decent paycheck, the total sounds a very low price. However, if on social security, then it’s a chunk out of your monthly social security benefit.
Some may say you should have planned better; however, the previous generation didn’t plan for things like dementia, alzheimers, frontal lobe dementia, etc, and those parents require around-the-clock care,which they didn’t plan for so the soon to be retiring children have to foot the bill for that thereby draining their well-planned retirement accounts.
For me, I socked away quite a bit of $$ for retirement while working, however, a parent who refused to see reality and plan for reality ended up with dementia and had to be taken care of.
You don’t know what you’re going to be dealt as you start nearing retirement age. Bruce Willis is a good example, but he’s got plenty of $$ for excellent care. Most of us don’t have that luxury.
So to sum up Pierre’s point, you can’t claim that Medicare is a good deal because when you’re getting older and perhaps not able to work until you’re 85 or 90, Medicare is expensive for one person, let alone 2. That’s the reality.
Laurel says
This Is Reality: Are you on Medicare, or Medicare Advantage? With real Medicare, there are not several plan choices. The different plans are the “Advantage” plans. Our straight, real Medicare, A & B, is $180 a month each. We chose our doctors (I picked a female and Hubby picked a male) sometime around 13-14 years ago, and we’re still seeing them. People need to do the research, the information is out there.
As for Part D, we don’t need expensive drugs at this time. I chose a plan with Welcare that costs us $0. That amount may change in the future, but we are avoiding the penalty, and saving money in the meantime.
I don’t know why Mayo Clinic does not accept Advantage plans, but if I may guess, my guess would be to avoid bean counters who try to avoid services by overriding doctors’ decisions. Mayo is not for profit.
Has real Medicare price increased? Yes, but nowhere near as bad as private insurance. We are now paying just a bit lower (about $40 mo less) than we paid Florida Blue, through work, 13 years ago ($400 mo for two people).
The Advantage plans are misleading people. They are private insurance companies. People believe they are Medicare plans. They are not.
Study before you buy. Getting off the advantage plans are difficult and expensive, if possible. You have been paying into a private system, and will have to catch up.
Not Just The ACA says
It won’t just be people on Obamacare. It’s people, like me, who have health care through our employers. We received advanced warning that the cost of having health care through work is going up $200 a pay period! I already pay $350. America, the ONLY developed nation where you go into debt for medical care, where some people have to choose between food and medicine. What a disgrace. The brainwashing worked. Americans have the worst health care, the worst insurance, one of the shortest life spans (when compared other developed nations), and the most medical debt. Congrats people. Thanks for falling for the “universal health care,” is bad con job. What do you think Congress has? Universal health care paid for by us. So we pay for their health care and for our own (what they receive is socialism for those that don’t understand, just like the cops and firefighters and libraries, Medicare, social security, all of them are socialist programs).
R.S. says
Blue Cross used to be a non-profit organizations of Baylor University faculty in 1920; Blue Shield used to be a non-profit for a group of lumberjacks a few years later. They had their philosophies right: one for all and all for one! The community shares in the misfortune of the one, and payments get spread out for all. Then the country got taken away by “Greed is Good,” forgot about non-profit single-payer systems and went whole hog for profit. I have no idea why AARP still promotes United Healthcare, which prides itself in making lots of money for its profit. In 2024, UnitedHealth Group reported $14.4 billion in profits, which included $5.5 billion from the fourth quarter. Additionally, the company’s earnings from operations for the year were $32.3 billion. This is all cash that should be going toward healthcare if it were a non-profit outfit. This is such a sick state of affairs!!! And when Obama made some inroads, the public voted for some ridiculous showman who’s playing god with the world. How can any people be so incredibly stupid and heartless toward their fellow human beings?
Sunny says
This has been the plan by tRump all along. The rich get richer & we get screwed. Laws & voting are changing so we’ll have NO CHOICES! We do not have SCOTUS & he can’t be held accountable! Magas have gutted the laws & our democracy. Too many choose hate & ignorance now we must all suffer. How do you look you children in the eye?