The enhanced credits are gone
Your premium doubled.
Here is exactly why,
and what is left.
The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025 and Congress has not brought them back. The 400% income cliff returned with them. This site does the 2027 arithmetic honestly, shows you where the edge sits, and puts a licensed agent on the other end of the phone.
The line that decides everything
For 2027 coverage, a premium tax credit stops entirely above 400% of the federal poverty level. Not a taper. A cliff.
- One person
- $63,840
- Family of four
- $132,000
A dollar over these numbers and the credit goes to zero. For a couple in their late fifties that single dollar can be worth more than $15,000 a year.
How the cliff worksThe 400% cliff is back
One dollar over
the line can cost
$15,000 a year.
For 2027 the premium tax credit stops entirely above 400% of the federal poverty level — $63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four. Not a taper. A cliff. Know where the edge sits before you commit to a plan.
What the last two years did
- What subsidised enrollees actually paid in 2026
- +58%
- Average deductible jump for 2026, the steepest on record
- +37%
- Median increase proposed for 2027, across 276 insurers
- +15%
Licensed in 33 states
No call center.
One licensed agent
who answers his phone.
One conversation usually beats a week of reading. Austin Olivier walks you through the 2027 math for your household — what you qualify for, where the cliff sits, and what it actually costs — then you decide. Nothing is sold that you did not ask for.
Austin Olivier
Licensed Health Insurance Agent. Licensed in 33 states.
What actually happened to your premium
Two things hit at once. Insurers raised prices, and the federal help that had been absorbing those prices since 2021 disappeared. The second one is what people felt.
One number deserves a caveat, because it is quoted wrongly everywhere. Before 2026 began, analysts projected subsidised premiums would more than double. The realised increase was 58%, not 114%, because people bought down to cheaper plans rather than pay the difference. The gap between those two figures is the story: the bill did not fall, coverage did.
Start where you are
Find out what you qualify for
The calculator uses the 2026 poverty guidelines and the 2027 applicable percentage table. Your expected contribution is exact arithmetic, not a guess.
Open the calculator02See what your state proposed
Filings for all 50 states and DC, from -1% to +54%. Find yours before open enrollment opens.
Check your state03Get it checked by a person
One conversation usually beats a week of reading. Austin Olivier is licensed in 33 states and answers his own phone.
Talk to a licensed agentThe 2027 calendar, with the asterisk nobody mentions
Open enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Enroll by December 15, 2026 if you want coverage on January 1. The final deadline is currently January 15, 2027, and that date is genuinely uncertain.
A 2025 federal rule would have ended open enrollment on December 15. A federal court in Maryland struck that provision down in June 2026, which restored the January 15 deadline. The government appealed in July 2026 and the case is pending before the Fourth Circuit, so the closing date could still move.
Full enrollment guideNovember 1, 2026
Open enrollment opens
Plans, prices, and networks are published. Nothing is gained by waiting.
December 15, 2026
Deadline for January 1 coverage
This is the date that matters for most people. Miss it and coverage starts February 1 at the earliest.
January 15, 2027
Final deadline, currently
Under appeal. Do not plan around it. Some state exchanges run to January 31.
Written for the situation you are actually in
All guides →The 400% subsidy cliff, explained
One dollar of income can cost you your entire premium tax credit. Where the edge sits, and who fell off it.
Subsidy repayment: the caps are gone
Underestimate your income now and you repay every dollar of excess credit, with no ceiling. Most people have not heard this yet.
Coverage when you get no subsidy
You are over 400% of poverty and paying full price. How to think about the decision without wasting money.
Health insurance for early retirees
Ages 55 to 64, no employer plan, not yet on Medicare. The group the cliff hit hardest, and the levers that still work.
Self-employed and 1099 coverage
Income you can influence, a deduction many people miss, and why your subsidy is a tax question as much as a coverage question.
Cost-sharing reductions
The subsidy Congress did not touch. If you are under 250% of poverty and skipped silver, you may have left it on the table.
Why trust anything on this page
Most of what ranks for these searches is written by people who have never filled out a Form 8962. This is written by a licensed agent, and every number on the site is footnoted to the IRS revenue procedure, the CMS parameter guidance, the Federal Register, or KFF. If a figure is an estimate, it says so beside the figure.
You are also told what is uncertain, which is unusual in this category. The January 15 deadline is under appeal. The 2027 rates are proposals, not approvals. Several 2027 enrollment rules were struck down by a federal court and are being appealed right now. Those caveats are on the pages, not buried.
Verifiable credentials
- Licensed agent
- Christopher Austin Olivier
- National Producer Number
- 21299672
- Resident licence
- Florida 0215 Life, Health & Variable Contracts Agent, licence G153522
- States licensed
- 33 — AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NC, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI, WY
Every licence number can be checked against your state department of insurance. Agents who will not publish a producer number are worth a second look.
See every license on the licensing pageWhat premiums look like, state by state
Published 2026 benchmarks, the increases insurers filed for 2027, and the projected result — for all 50 states and DC. Select a state to see its numbers.
Published average monthly benchmark premium for a 40-year-old, before any tax credit. This is the plan every subsidy is calculated against.
Hover or tap a state for its full numbers.
Pick a state
Hover or tap any state. The spread is larger than most people expect: New Hampshire sits at $401 a month while Vermont sits at $1,299, for the same 40-year-old buying the same category of plan.
- National average, 2026
- $625/mo
- National average, 2025
- $497/mo
- One-year change
- +26%
Run your 2027 numbers right here
The same exact arithmetic as the full calculator: the 2026 poverty guidelines and the 2027 applicable percentage table. Nothing is stored and no email is required.
Your household
Use the income you expect to report for 2027, not last year’s. Subsidies are settled against what you actually earn.
Florida’s published 2026 benchmark was $683 a month for a 40-year-old. Insurers there have proposed 15.9% for 2027, which projects to about $792.
Modified adjusted gross income for everyone on your tax return.
Including anyone you claim as a dependent.
Monthly, for your whole household. Entering the real figure from your county replaces the estimate and makes the credit below exact.
What the 2027 rules give you
Your numbers appear here
Fill in your income, the people on your tax return, and your age. The math updates instantly as you type — nothing is stored, no email needed.
Get your own numbers, not the average ones
Benchmark premiums are set county by county, and averages hide enormous variation. Fifteen minutes on the phone gets you the real figure for your ZIP code, your household, and your doctors.