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Fewer New Yorkers sign up for private ACA health insurance as costs rise
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jan 19, 2026
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jan 19, 2026
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Fewer New Yorkers are enrolling in private health plans through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace so far this year as insurance premiums go up, early state data shows.
As of early January, 206,427 New Yorkers had signed up for private insurance through the marketplace, a 3% decrease compared with enrollment figures released around the same time last year.
Those figures are similar to other state and federal data on ACA enrollment from early January, according to the health policy nonprofit KFF.
But that doesn’t mean health coverage in New York is dropping overall — at least not yet. Enrollment has increased this year in New York’s Essential Plan, a publicly funded insurance option for lower-income New Yorkers that offers free or very cheap coverage. As of early January, enrollment in the Essential Plan was up 6% compared with last year, state data shows.
Danielle DeSouza, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, said enrollment in health coverage through the marketplace was “trending significantly lower” before Dec. 15, which was the deadline to sign up for coverage that would start promptly on Jan. 1. At that point, “additional late sign-ups narrowed the gap,” she said.
New Yorkers still have until the end of the month to sign up for 2026 plans.
DeSouza said a “key concern” for state health officials now is that those with high insurance costs might still drop their plans once the time comes to pay their first premium bills.
Rebecca Boyden, a Queens-based competitive figure skating coach, said this month that she had signed up for health coverage through the marketplace so she wouldn’t miss the deadline, but is still deciding whether to keep it.
Prior to this year, she said, the most she ever paid in insurance premiums on the marketplace was around $350 per month. Now, she said, she is signed up for a Bronze-level plan that costs $686 per month.
The 55-year-old said she’s trying to figure out what she can do without in order to afford insurance.
Boyden said she’s also asking herself, “ How much can I stomach not having health insurance at all?”
Enhanced federal insurance subsidies that help lower the cost of coverage expired at the end of 2025, despite congressional Democrats’ attempts to reach a deal that would extend them. The expiration of those enhanced subsidies both slashed eligibility for financial assistance and reduced the amount of assistance some people will receive.
DeSouza said New Yorkers’ premiums have spiked about 40% this year. State officials estimated last year that the 140,000 or so New Yorkers who benefited from the federal insurance subsidies would pay an average of $114 more per month for coverage this year, or nearly $1,400 for the year.
Tagged
Health and Science
new york city
public health
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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