Illinois Loses 92,000 ACA Enrollees as Expired Tax Credits Push Premiums Up 26%
Updated
Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jun 9
Illinois Loses 92,000 ACA Enrollees as Expired Tax Credits Push Premiums Up 26%
1 articles · Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jun 9
Summary
92,571 Illinois exchange customers disenrolled in recent months after open enrollment, cutting coverage from the 448,568 who initially signed up and marking the state's biggest post-enrollment drop in nearly a decade.
A 26% average premium increase drove much of the decline after enhanced pandemic-era ACA tax credits expired; average monthly household premiums rose to $328 from $260.
About 64% of those who left lost coverage for nonpayment, while 28% actively canceled plans, often citing affordability or coverage found elsewhere; disenrollment rates were two to three times higher than any of the last six years.
Another 17,068 people joined through special enrollment periods, but Illinois still has about 15% fewer exchange enrollees than a year earlier after first premiums were due.
The Illinois drop mirrors a broader national pullback, with Wakely estimating individual-market coverage could fall 17% to 26% this year across the country.