Obamacare policyholders could see 18-75% increase in monthly premiums

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Open enrollment for marketplace insurance policies through the Affordable Care Act begins Saturday. Numbers provided by the government show how much more some customers will have to spend for coverage if enhanced premium tax cuts are allowed to expire.

There is no one size fits all answer to how much costs will rise. Factors like age, income, types of coverage and more, all play a role. There are four levels of coverage listed as Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Analysis by the health policy research firm KFF looked at the Silver plan as a benchmark tier o coverage. The group found the average premium increase would be 26% for enrollees.

Reporting from The Hill shows, "...the reduced financial assistance could mean they would need to switch from a silver plan with a deductible of less than $100 to a bronze plan with a deductible of over $7,000." 

Daisy Villarreal, owner of a health insurance and tax service business in Brownsville said those numbers are just averages, and everyone's experience will differ.

“Members that are currently enrolled in Obamacare, Affordable Care Act, Marketplace insurance, the way people know it, will be seeing an increase of 18 all the way to 75 percent on their monthly premiums,” Villarreal said.

As of July 2025, enrollment in Obamacare policies range across the Rio Grande Valley from 14% in Willacy to 27% in Starr County, according to the Episcopal Health Foundation. Their data indicates the premium tax credits pay either 96% or 97% of Valley resident's premiums, depending on county.

Villarreal said, “It’s based on the plan, it’s based on your zip code, it’s based on the subsidies we’re getting for each county, and that’s how we would be affected.”

Democrats in Washington have seized on the issue of the expiring enhanced premium tax cuts. The party has said they want Senate Republicans to negotiate a plan to reinstate the tax credits as part of any plan to end the government shutdown.

But, Villarreal said even if a deal is struck, she's not sure it will make a difference for the upcoming enrollment period.

“We've been told that these are the numbers already, the official numbers for the year 2026. November 1st is the official open enrollment date for Obamacare, marketplace health insurance, and these are the numbers that they've given us. So, if you ask me, I don’t think they’re going to change.”

Villarreal said there are still subsidized plans available. But there are tradeoffs between what customers are paying for and the coverage they'll receive.

“A lot of the people that were paying $0 a month, they now have an option of still staying in a plan that’s $0 a month, but they will be facing...more co-payments or deductibles when it comes to using their insurance.”

A study by the Urban Institute estimates that if the enhanced premium tax credits expire, nearly 5 million people would lose coverage in 2026. Villarreal said that 20% of customers are estimated to opt out of health insurance for the coming year. Although she said that hasn't been her experience. She said her clients have been understanding so far about price hikes.