Health insurance premiums for New Yorkers receiving subsidies are increasing by an average 38% due to the lapse of Affordable Care Act tax credits that expired on Dec. 31, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Friday.
The governor said about 140,000 New Yorkers will face steep health care costs as early as this week.
The change affects Americans who don’t get their health insurance from an employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — a group that includes many self-employed workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers. On average, the more than 20 million subsidized enrollees in the Affordable Care Act program are seeing their premium costs rise by 114% in 2026, according to an analysis by the health care research nonprofit KFF.
Hochul blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for allowing the credits to lapse.
“As we enter the New Year, thousands of hardworking New Yorkers face skyrocketing healthcare costs at the hands of Washington Republicans,” Hochul said in a statement. “Their inaction is a disgraceful representation of failed leadership and now their constituents will quite literally pay the price. New York’s Republican members of Congress must do the right thing and extend these credits, thousands of New York families rely on them.”
Republicans have blamed the Democrats, who passed the landmark health care law on a party-line vote nearly 16 years ago and expanded the subsidies when they controlled Congress in 2021 as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue has been a central part of Capitol Hill politics since the fall. Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to save their 2026 political aspirations. President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash. Both chambers still have competing plans and reasons for them. In the end, no one’s efforts were enough to save the subsidies before their expiration date. A House vote expected in January could offer another chance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.