Higher Premium/Deductible Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face

Some Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollees are choosing between plans that charge higher premium payments and plans with higher deductibles. Many enrollees are considering these tradeoffs following the expiration of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025, according to a new Health System Tracker analysis.

While switching from a silver plan to a bronze plan could lower premium payments, the loss of cost-sharing reductions for deductibles and copays and the higher cost-sharing associated with a bronze plan may leave these enrollees worse off financially, depending on how much care they need.

The full analysis and other data on health costs are available on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.