About 3 million fewer people in the United States Affordable Care Act Health insurance plans rose in February compared to the same period last year, according to new federal data.
In the report The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed Friday that it suggested the 13% drop in enrollment from 22.1 million people in 2025 to 19.2 million this year may be due to a federal crackdown on fraudulent or “phantom” enrollments. But health analysts said it was more likely related to Jan. 1 Expiry of federal subsidieswhich led to an increase in plan costs that left many people unable to pay their premiums.
“We know that real people have lost their health insurance coverage,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the ACA program at the nonprofit health research organization KFF, pointing to survey results on people who had given up on their plans. “This loss of coverage occurred at the same time that millions of people were facing double and even triple-digit increases in their premium payments.”
The new data, compiled in April but showing reporting in February, represents the government’s first official look at how people’s inability to pay their first bills this year has affected overall enrollment. This is because the numbers only enter the market after a payment period has expired.
A Federal estimate in January found that about 800,000 fewer people had signed up for ACA plans compared to the same time last year. This was the first time in four years that the number of registrations at this point in the shopping window had decreased compared to the previous year.
Cox said the KFF expects the total number of people in the state’s health care program to increase continues to decline possibly reaching a low of around 17.5 million over the course of the year. That would be a significant decline for the government’s flagship program, a subsidized health insurance program for working-age people who don’t qualify for Medicaid. In recent years, ACA plans have become a popular choice for workers, farmers, ranchers, hairdressers and others who do not have health insurance coverage through an employer.
The ACA subsidies, which expired this year, were the subject of a bitter dispute in Congress last fall, with Democrats and some Republicans calling for them to be extended. The sharp rise in health care costs under the ACA and other health insurance programs comes as voters in the upcoming November election say affordability is among their top concerns.