Nearly 100,000 Kentuckians face steep increases in insurance premiums on Nov. 1
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- Nearly 100,000 Kentucky exchange enrollees face steep premium increases Nov. 1.
- Loss of ACA tax credits would raise family premiums by over $12,000 annually.
- Medicaid changes and work rules risk more uninsured and pressure insurance markets.
Nearly 100,000 people in Kentucky who buy insurance on an online exchange could see their premiums spike come Nov. 1, when enrollment begins.
Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, both Democrats, said during a news conference Tuesday that without an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, some estimate premiums could, on average, increase by more than 37%.
American families “should never have to choose between affording groceries, paying the rent, and being able to afford health care coverage. Not extending these credits is going to force many of our neighbors to make very hard choices,” Beshear said.
McGarvey cautioned that all insurance premiums, not just those who buy on the online exchange, will see an increase, because fewer people overall will be insured.
“Every single person, whether you’re on the Affordable Care Act, whether you have an employer based insurance, you’re going to see your health insurance premiums rise dramatically,” McGarvey said. “When their health insurance costs more than their mortgage, how are they going to live? “
For those who buy insurance on Kynect and receive those tax credits, a family of four making $130,000 in Kentucky, the cost of annual premiums alone would increase by more than $12,000. A 60-year-old couple making $85,000 would pay nearly $24,000 more annually, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
Ann Pipes, a real estate appraiser in Louisville who has purchased insurance through Kynect said the online exchange’s current premium is $350 a month for a basic but high-deductible plan with the tax credit.
That same health plan will now cost her $1,275 a month, a $900 a month increase, she said during Tuesday’s news conference.
That’s money she doesn’t have, Pipes said. She has already picked up a second job to help pay other expenses. She’s already rationing her health care in expectation that she may not be able to afford health care come January.
“This is the first time in my adult life I will be without health insurance,” Pipes said.
The online marketplaces covers small business owners like Pipes, older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare and others who make too much for Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor and disabled, but don’t have workplace insurance.
A KFF study found the vast majority of people who buy insurance on state-run exchanges are small business owners or independent contractors.
The federal government shut down Oct. 1, after Democrats refused to negotiate with Republicans on other spending measures without an extension of those tax credits.
In July, McGarvey argued Republicans made permanent temporary tax cuts that predominately favored wealthy Americans but did not want to extend tax credits that make health insurance more affordable for working Americans.
Republicans have countered that those tax credits were meant to expire after the COVID pandemic. Some, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, have said the tax credits have become subsidies to for-profit insurance companies.
The move comes after the Big, Beautiful Bill, passed by Congress on July 4, made dramatic changes to Medicaid. Those changes, including stiffer work requirements, could mean thousands of Kentuckians will lose Medicaid health coverage, further driving up the number of uninsured people in Kentucky, Beshear said.
“There is no excuse for action not to be taken. Either you believe that health care costs should be held down for the American people, or you don’t. This is not a political issue, and the American people should not be used as a negotiating tool,” Beshear said.
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 11:29 AM.
