Affordable Care Act

Every carrier selling health insurance in the two states through the Affordable Care Act marketplace hopes to raise premiums in 2027, according to preliminary rate filings with state insurance regulators. They blame rising healthcare costs.

When Congress allowed Affordable Care Act tax credits to lapse, healthcare premiums spiked for millions of Americans — especially self-employed farmers and ranchers. That added cost is multiplying the stress on their already stretched balance sheets.

Missouri's 25% drop in Obamacare marketplace enrollment is at least partly due to expiration of pandemic-era subsidies, experts say.

About half of all Missouri enrollees chose bronze plans in 2026 — the lowest-premium option with the highest deductibles — a significant shift from last year. One reason for the shift is the lapse of Biden-era subsidies that made costs lower for buyers.

Experts say the current enrollment numbers may still fall in the coming weeks. Many Affordable Care Act enrollees were automatically re-enrolled and remain in a grace period to pay their premiums.

A state constitutional amendment, if passed by voters, would require many people on Medicaid to work. The amendment reflects federal work requirements that were passed last year and must be in place next year.

Small business owners make up many of the millions of people who are facing higher premiums for health care, after Congress allowed COVID-era enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act to lapse. Because of the higher prices, two Kansas City-area business owners say they’ve had to adjust their business strategies.

The Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a national policy organization, found 68 rural Kansas hospitals are at risk of closing, including 30 at immediate risk. Revenue isn’t keeping up with costs.

Congress is poised to leave for a scheduled holiday recess without a solution for addressing the expiration of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. "I do know the effect on people at home," Hawley told NPR after the Senate vote.

Health care for some immigrants was stripped away more than three months ago when President Donald Trump rescinded a rule that offered health care plans to people who migrated to the U.S. as children.

President Trump signed a bill to fund the government through the end of January, ending the shutdown that has dragged on for six weeks. Missouri and Kansas Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while Democrats had voted against.

An average benchmark plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace will cost Missouri customers almost 24% more than the year before as costs for food and energy are increasing.