Cynthia Cox

The State of the Affordable Care Act - KFF Health News Nov. 1 marked the start of open enrollment for 2026 health plans bought from Affordable Care Act marketplaces in most states. But this sign-up season is like no other in the health law’s 15-year histo...

In this special episode of “What the Health?” from KFF Health News and WAMU, host @julierovner.bsky.social talks to @cynthiaccox.bsky.social of @kff.org about the state of the Affordable Care Act. https://bit.ly/4813Bad

KFF graphic featuring a quote from Cynthia Cox, KFF Vice President and Director of the Program on the ACA. It says, “The amount health insurers charge for coverage on the ACA Marketplaces is rising 26%, on average, in 2026... Most enrollees would face even sharper increases in what they pay if they ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits expire.”

Across all states, benchmark ACA premiums will rise an average of 26% next year, though most enrollees would see sharper increases if the enhanced tax credits expire.

KFF’s Cynthia Cox explains the numbers. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/3WNhiDz

The debate over extending the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits is at the center of the congressional shutdown.

KFF’s @cynthiaccox.bsky.social breaks down what is at stake and what each side is saying.

If more people switch ACA plans, more people will be double counted.
 
This would artificially increase the number of “enrollees” who appear to have no claims.

I’m getting a lot of questions about notices insurers are sending out to ACA/Obamacare enrollees about premiums for next year.

I’m curious to see a notice letter if you have one and want to share. My DMs are open.

@louisenorris.bsky.social @kgmom219.bsky.social

The EDGE data used to show ACA “enrollees” without claims actually tracks “enrollments,” double-counting people who switch plans.

CMS says this causes a “small” overcount.

But EDGE enrollment totals are about 50% (11+ million) higher than other CMS enrollment data.

Is it Too Late for ACA Insurers to Change Their Premiums? Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurers are raising premiums by an average of 18% next year, due in part to the expiring enhanced premium tax credits. Even if the credits are extended in shutdown neg...

I have to agree with @cynthiaccox.bsky.social we have not passed the point of no return for the bulk of the financial damage of the 2026 Republican rate increases. It does require Congress to act with some speed. www.kff.org/quick-take/i...

KFF graphic featuring a quote from Cynthia Cox, KFF Vice President and Director of the Program on the ACA. It says, “The enhanced premium tax credits lower the percent of income people have to pay across the board. For subsidized enrollees, what they pay each month is not up to insurers, it’s up to Congress... In other words, when we say premium payments will go up 114%, most of that increase is just based on a formula set by Congress.”

⚡ KFF’s @cynthiaccox.bsky.social explains how Congress can still prevent the vast majority of ACA enrollees from facing higher premium costs — even if insurer premiums are already locked in. #QuickTake https://on.kff.org/46V968K

KFF graphic featuring a quote from Cynthia Cox, KFF Vice President and Director of the Program on the ACA. It says, “In total, due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other policy changes, the number of people without health insurance is expected to increase by about 17 million. If all of this comes to pass, it would represent the biggest roll back of health insurance coverage ever due to federal policy changes.”

⚡ KFF’s @cynthiaccox.bsky.social explains how millions of people are expected to lose health insurance coverage over the next decade with cuts to Medicaid and the ACA in the reconciliation bill, as well as other ACA changes not in the bill. #QuickTake on.kff.org/3GrJ9V5

About 17 Million More People Could be Uninsured due to the Big Beautiful Bill and other Policy Changes In total, due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other policy changes, the number of people without health insurance is expected to increase by about 17 million. If all of this comes to pass, it wo...

17 million people estimated to be without health insurance if the current version of the OBBBA under consideration by Senate passes, according to most recent CBO estimates. www.kff.org/quick-take/a... #healthinsurance #access #affordability @cynthiaccox.bsky.social @kff.org

Medicaid cuts put lives and communities at risk.

“Without Medicaid… I would be dead.”

Home care. Rural hospitals. Coverage for 100,000+ kids — all threatened.

The CBO says 16 million more could be uninsured by 2034.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

If you want to understand how appropriating funding for ACA cost-sharing subsidies saves the government money and decreases premium assistance for enrollees, check out this analysis from 8 years ago by me and
@cynthiaccox.bsky.social.
www.kff.org/affordable-c...

Also unlike the ACA repeal debate, I am unsure how widely the projected loss of coverage for ~10 million people is known. The ACA debate was clearly healthcare focused. This time, I'm seeing lots of articles referencing the "budget bill," "policy bill," "tax bill," etc. The stakes are less clear.

Covered California (CA’s ACA marketplace) is projecting that 30% of people enrolled through Covered California will lose/drop marketplace coverage as a result of Republican cuts.

Again, I ask, where is the health care industry lobby?

This is 600,000 fewer marketplace plans in California, alone.

Per this estimate, the GOP bill would leave an extra 38,000 Mainers without health insurance - on top of the current figure of 82,000.

Maine hasn’t seen that number of uninsured people since ~2015 when the economy was much worse and LePage kicked folks off MaineCare.

#mepolitics

How Will the 2025 Reconciliation Bill Affect the Uninsured Rate in Each State?: Allocating CBO’s Partial Estimates of Coverage Loss | KFF Legislation passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee could increase the number of people without health insurance by 8.6 million, due largely to changes to Medicaid and the ACA. Combining the provi...

NEW: STATE BY STATE
How many more people might be #uninsured with the House GOP Reconciliation Bill?

www.kff.org/affordable-c... @kff.org @mattrae.bsky.social @jaredortaliza.bsky.social @alicelburns.bsky.social

The Spotlight Is on Medicaid Cuts, But the ACA Marketplaces Could See a One-Third Cut in Enrollment In his latest column, President and CEO Drew Altman shows how proposals contained in the House reconciliation bill could result in a one-third reduction in ACA Marketplace enrollment. “While all eyes ...

All eyes are on #Medicaid, and for good reason. But the ACA #Obamacare Marketplaces are also expecting big coverage losses. @drewaltman.bsky.social @kff.org
www.kff.org/from-drew-al...

Marketplace Enrollees with Unpredictable Incomes Could Face Bigger Penalties Under House Reconciliation Bill Provision | KFF This analysis illustrates how provisions included in the House budget reconciliation bill could expose Marketplace enrollees with unpredictable incomes to higher penalties when filing taxes if they un...

NEW: Many workers, especially those who work shifts or gigs, have volatile incomes.
ACA #obamacare enrollees with less predictable incomes could face coverage barriers and bigger penalties under the House GOP reconciliation package & other expected policy changes @kff.org www.kff.org/affordable-c...

The Sleeper Provision in the Reconciliation Bill That Could Hobble the ACA Marketplaces An obscure provision in the U.S. House reconciliation bill could have major consequences for the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces. In a guest post for CHIRblog, the Urban Institute's Jason Levitis and...

Some provisions of the House reconciliation package aren’t getting much media coverage, but they could mean big changes for the Affordable Care Act
chirblog.org/the-sleeper-... @sabrinacorlette.bsky.social @jasonlevitis.bsky.social @clinkeyoung.bsky.social

KFF CEO @drewaltman.bsky.social is now on Blue Sky! Follow him for everything health policy @kff.org @kffhealthnews.org

Not necessarily buying these estimates but...of the changes/cuts CBO has analyzed, almost the largest impact on the uninsured--3.8m--comes from the least discussed change, not extending the enhanced ACA tax credits.

As this study shows, there are many areas of improvement needed in our healthcare system.

How has the quality of the U.S. healthcare system changed over time? www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collec... by @lynnemargalit.bsky.social @emmawage.bsky.social @cynthiaccox.bsky.social via @kff.org

Enrollment Growth in the ACA Marketplaces | KFF This analysis of enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plans finds a record 24.3 million people enrolled in 2025, more than double the total in 2020, with most of the growth occur...

(1/2) NEW: Enrollment in the ACA Marketplaces more than doubled since 2020, growing by 12.9M enrollees. Of that increase, 11.4M of the new enrollees (88% of the growth) are from states where President Trump won during the 2024 election. www.kff.org/policy-watch... @cynthiaccox.bsky.social

What should you do if you think you have the measles? To help control the spread of measles, experts say people who think they're infected should take precautions before visiting a doctor’s office or the emergency room.

“If you have any concerns” about being infected with measles, “do not just show up at the pediatrician’s office. Do not just show up at the ER,” Brown said. “Call first so they can be prepared.”

www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...

the classic windows xp wallpaper with your friend darth the red panda, a red panda wearing a darth vader outfit and with blue sky butterfly wings, flying above

hello ok i am awake what did i miss
tell me every thing

Cancer caused by HPV is increasing in some women in the U.S. The percentage of women screened for cervical cancer fell, especially in rural areas, as rates of the disease have been edging up among women in their 30s and 40s.

Now that doctors have changed the way they screen for cervical cancer, many women are being told they tested positive for “high-risk” HPV. What does this mean? Does it give you a high risk of cancer? Does it mean the HPV shot failed? Learn more in my latest story!

www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...

Soooo this flight went fine but on tonight’s return flight to DCA we had to abruptly abort our landing after touching down to avoid crashing into another plane on the runway. After another loop around we landed safely but it was quite scary.

DOGE’s Cuts at the USDA Could Cause US Grocery Prices to Rise and Invasive Species to Spread Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.

Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.

Missed this story last night portending something bad for AHRQ

AHRQ fills a hugely important void in the medical and health care research space: it funds work that doesn't map cleanly to a disease, body part, or special population (e.g., older Americans)

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...