COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Michigan Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollment fell by roughly 130,000 people in February compared to the previous year, marking a sharp 27% decline.
According to newly released federal data, the state ranks near the top nationally in enrollment losses following the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.
The federal subsidies, originally enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, had kept healthcare coverage affordable for four years but their lapse triggered an overnight surge in costs.
With base individual marketplace premiums simultaneously climbing by about 20% in Michigan this year.
The steep drop reflects a broader national trend where nearly 3 million Americans dropped or lost marketplace coverage due to skyrocketing costs.
Healthcare analysts note that the average subsidized enrollee’s cost to maintain the same plan jumped significantly, leaving roughly one in ten former enrollees entirely uninsured.
While independent researchers point to the subsidy expiration and a $1,000 average increase in deductibles as the primary drivers of the slump, the Trump administration has attributed part of the nationwide decline to an enhanced federal crackdown on fraudulent or improper subsidies.
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