New Yorkers will see higher health care costs in 2026.
Beyond Medicaid cuts in the federal budget megabill, expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies are expected to increase monthly premiums by 114% nationwide, which means 140,000 New Yorkers will see a 38% increase in their monthly costs.
Democratic lawmakers introduced plans to keep the subsidies, but they failed to collect enough support to pass a closely divided Senate.
Cristina Batt, senior vice president of federal policy for the Healthcare Association of New York State, said a lack of health insurance has compounding effects.
“It doesn’t mean that they won’t get sick,” Batt pointed out. “People are still going to get sick, they’re just not going to be able to access some of the preventive services they otherwise would. They’re probably going to delay care.”
She explained it may lead to more people in the emergency rooms during a time of crisis. Batt added the trickle-down effect of the cuts will also damage hospital access. A Fiscal Policy Institute report found 1.5 million New Yorkers will become uninsured due to the Medicaid cuts. The cuts alone will have an $8 billion effect on New York hospitals. Another report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed hospitals, physicians and other health care providers nationwide could lose $32 billion in revenue in 2026.
House Republicans introduced a plan expanding the availability of low-cost, low-coverage insurance, new transparency requirements on pharmacy benefit managers and funding for certain kinds of cost-sharing reductions to premiums. The plan does not extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Vaishu Jawahar, director of policy programs for the advocacy group Protect Our Care, said it would erase progress made by the Affordable Care Act.
“The ACA has helped us reach our highest level of coverage in our country,” Jawahar emphasized. “In 2024, only 8% of Americans were uninsured, and that was because these tax credits were expanded and extended.”
She added without subsidies, it could be harder for people to afford health insurance if they have preexisting conditions, as well as making it harder for people to afford care for chronic conditions. The House GOP plan passed without an extension but faces a dim future in the closely divided Senate.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.