Health insurance marketplace rate hikes top 20 percent in most states, Cantwell says

Posted September 25, 2025 at 1:50pm

People who receive insurance through the top marketplace plan in most states can expect sticker shock this fall, according to data compiled by the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Cantwell, D-Wash., who’s urging congressional leadership and President Donald Trump to find a way to extend expiring health care subsidies, on Thursday issued a snapshot report on rate increase requests from insurers across the country. In 29 states, rates for the top marketplace insurer are expected to increase at least 20 percent next year, according to the data.

At issue is the eligibility for health subsidies that Congress expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to include individuals earning above 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Those tax credits are set to expire on Dec. 31 without congressional action.

In many cases, insurers that provide marketplace plans are raising rates for 2026 to account for the possibility that subsidies will lapse.

In Cantwell’s home state of Washington, for example, Coordinated Care Corporation’s rates would increase almost 27 percent. The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner this month approved an average premium rate increase of 21 percent, which would be its single biggest increase in rates since 2018. Washington residents would pay an average of $132 more per month, or $1,585 annually, under these increases, according to her data.

In a letter to Trump and Republican and Democratic leadership in both chambers, Cantwell urged immediate action to help keep people insured and reduce their costs.

“Once beneficiaries choose a plan, or decide they can no longer afford to participate, their decision is locked in for the entire year except for very limited circumstances,” she said. “That is why we have an urgent responsibility to act now to extend enhanced ACA premium tax credits before burdensome and unaffordable health insurance costs get locked in for next year.”

Open enrollment for individuals seeking health care through the individual marketplace begins Nov. 1, at which point Americans will be notified of the health exchange premiums for 2026. 

Arizonans could see the largest increase, where the expected rate for Arizona Complete Health would increase by almost 49 percent.

While members of both parties have called for finding a path to extend these tax credits before they expire, Democrats such as Cantwell are pushing to include an extension as part of a stopgap funding bill. Some Republicans have said they plan to address the credits in the next funding vehicle, while others are set against renewing the expanded subsidies.

“If Democrats fail to pass our clean, nonpartisan, 24-page CR to keep the government open the American People will know where the blame lies,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posted on X on Wednesday.