Reports Outline Insurance Study Results from RAND Corporation (The Unaffordability of Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Plans): Insurance

2026 JAN 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Policy and Law Daily -- New research on Insurance is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Santa Monica, California, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed to simplify plan choice and provide affordable health insurance. However, the complexity and cost-sharing features of ACA plans may undermine its goals.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from RAND Corporation, “To examine the affordability and choice set of all individual ACA health insurance plans, and the cost implications for taxpayers. Cross-sectional study. ACA marketplace plans nationwide. We analyzed choice set, total premiums, and total deductibles for all plans in all US ACA markets using 2023 HIX Compare data, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, and American Community Survey data. We evaluated affordability for persons with incomes above 400% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), for whom ACA premium tax subsidies are set to expire, defining premiums 10% of annual income as unaffordable. In 97% of US counties, ACA consumers were offered >= 25 ACA plans, and 40% of counties offered >127 plans. Presubsidy, the median (IQR) Bronze plan premium was $4160 ($3636-4866), with a median (IQR) deductible of $7500 ($5300-$9700). The median (IQR) Silver plan premium was $5057 ($4430-5892), with a median (IQR) deductible of $2000 ($0-6800). Among persons with income at 400% of FPL, 98.6% of markets had 75% of their plans with unaffordable premiums for a 2-adult household, and 97.0% of markets had 75% of plans with unaffordable premiums for a 50-year-old individual should subsidies expire. Excessive plan choice creates significant challenges for consumers in selecting appropriate coverage.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The magnitude of premiums and deductibles is unsustainable due to the financial burdens they place on the individual ACA consumer and/or the American taxpayer.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Unaffordability of Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Plans. Medical Care, 2026. Medical Care can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Medical Care - http://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/pages/default.aspx)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Cheryl L. Damberg, RAND Corporation, RAND Health Care, Santa Monica, CA.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000002280. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal Medical Care is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.

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