The law was sold as the cure for everything wrong with American health insurance. Lower costs, more coverage, a system that finally worked for ordinary people. Oh yeah, and if you liked your plan and your doctor, you could keep them. Fifteen years later, the bill has come due — and it's a lot more than most people can afford. The question isn't whether Obamacare is failing. The question is, why don’t we just put it out of its misery already?
About 23 million people signed up for Obamacare coverage in 2026. That may sound good, but enrollment through the marketplaces fell by roughly 1.2 million people in January compared with last year's record sign-ups.
And those who did sign up? Many aren't actually paying.
Data from 75 insurers, compiled by Wakely Consulting Group, estimate that average Obamacare enrollment in 2026 will be 17% to 26% lower than last year. Why? Because it costs too dang much.
The problem with the subsidies is that they were always hiding the real price tag of Obamacare. They were never a solution; they were covering up the truth. The enhanced premium tax credits, first adopted in 2021 during COVID, artificially covered up the amount people actually owed each month. Congress let those expire at the end of last year because enough was enough. Premiums jumped an average of 26% this year while millions of enrollees simultaneously watched their federal subsidies shrink or vanish entirely.
A KFF analysis released on May 19 found that the average deductible in Obamacare plans rose 37%, from $2,759 in 2025 to $3,786 in 2026.
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I can speak to this personally. I'm paying close to $800 a month for a bronze-level individual plan, which is the cheapest tier available. It doesn't cover much. The deductible is so high that I’ve never come close to meeting it. I'm essentially paying for insurance that I largely don’t need, month after month, year after year. It basically doesn’t even cover anything. I have to spend a few thousand dollars on health care costs before I even start getting actual coverage. And the premium increase I experienced had nothing to do with subsidies because I never qualified for them in the first place. And I'm far from alone.
It’s just gotten more expensive… for everyone.
According to Ellen Montz of Manatt Health, the early payment data indicate the situation "will absolutely be worse" than in previous years because of "sticker shock" from higher costs.
Obamacare was pitched loudly and repeatedly as the solution to rising health insurance costs. Instead, it made the problem worse. Why are Democrats fighting to keep it alive? Everything conservatives predicted would happen with Obamacare has happened, so let’s fix the problem: nuke Obamacare and come up with a solid, free-market solution. I’m sick of paying so much money for health insurance. I bet you are, too.
