Congress let the enhanced credits lapse. The bill was $780 a year

A decision not to act is still a decision, and this one has a price tag.

The enhanced premium tax credits expired on December 31, 2025. They were not repealed — they had an end date written into them, and Congress did not extend it.

The arithmetic

The average net monthly premium paid by Marketplace consumers went from $113 to $178. That is $65 a month, or about $780 a year, for the average enrollee.

For enrollees above 400% of the federal poverty level — who qualified for a subsidy only because the enhancement raised the ceiling — the credit went to zero. Their increase is far larger than the average.

Why the sticker price moved too

Two things happened in the same year, and they compound:

• The subsidy shrank back to the pre-enhancement formula
• Insurers filed a median rate increase of 18% for 2026, their largest proposed increases since 2018

Your net payment is the sticker price minus the credit. Both moved against the enrollee at once.

What this section does and does not do

This is the arithmetic of a federal decision, per household. Whether the enhancement should have been extended is a question with real arguments on both sides, about cost, about who benefits, and about what happens to the risk pool when healthier enrollees drop out.

We do not take a position on that. We report what it costs you, and let you weigh it.

Questions people ask