Florida's ACA enrollment drops after loss of subsidies
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Julee Ellison of Bradenton never thought much about politics, much less what it meant for her health care. Then, she retired at 59. Too young for Medicare, she turned to the federal marketplace for coverage in 2024.
- The cost surprised her even then: a $672 premium that felt like "a car payment."
- Ellison didn't realize she had benefited from Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies until Republicans let them lapse this month — and her premium nearly tripled.
Why it matters: Ellison is among 4.4 million Floridians who enrolled in the federal marketplace this year. She, like countless others, settled for a plan that cost more than her previous one but offered far less coverage.
- Not everyone else could.
Driving the news: Florida saw about 261,000 fewer people enrolled in the marketplace this year, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- But that drop may wind up being even larger. Jared Ortaliza, a policy analyst at KFF, wrote that the data released earlier this month shows only how many people signed up for or were automatically renewed.
- Ortaliza added that the data doesn't "necessarily translate to enrollments" and that some people who were automatically renewed may drop coverage after seeing their bills.
Between the lines: Florida is among 10 states that haven't expanded Medicaid.
- That's left people who would've qualified for such coverage in other states to enroll in ACA plans, which, until recently, offered expanded coverage options for those above the federal poverty level.
- About 545,000 marketplace enrollees lived in Tampa Bay's congressional districts in 2025, with about 525,000 receiving subsidies, according to data from KFF.
What we're hearing: "There are still tax credits available in the marketplace, but it's [now] really limited to those people earning between 100 and 400% of the poverty level," said Scott Darius of Florida Voices for Health.
- "So the folks who I think are suffering the most — who are seeing both the biggest increase in costs and no actual financial support — are those folks who are squarely in the middle class."
State of play: Congressional Democrats fought to include an extension of ACA subsidies in a deal to fund the government, but after the longest shutdown in history, they conceded without them.
- President Trump has ruled out reviving the subsidies and, for now, the chances of restoring them appear bleak.