{"id":701322,"date":"2026-01-14T13:29:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T18:29:57","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:17:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:17:40","slug":"higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n\tclass=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content--standard-layout wp-block-kff-shared-content\">\n\t\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content-main\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<h1 class=\"post-header__title\">Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-header__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"post-header__meta-label\">Published:<\/span>\n\t\t\t<date>Jan 14, 2026<\/date>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"post-header__social-sharing\">\n\t\t<button class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button print\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M4.348 2.5v3.391H2.783A.787.787 0 0 0 2 6.674v4.696c0 .429.353.782.783.782h1.565V14.5h7.304v-2.348h1.565c.43 0 .783-.353.783-.782V6.674a.787.787 0 0 0-.783-.783h-1.565V2.5H4.348Zm.522.522h6.26v2.87H4.87v-2.87ZM2.783 6.413h1.782a.26.26 0 0 0 .085 0h6.697a.26.26 0 0 0 .086 0h1.784c.148 0 .261.114.261.26v4.697c0 .147-.113.26-.26.26h-1.566V9.283H4.348v2.347H2.783a.257.257 0 0 1-.261-.26V6.674c0-.147.113-.261.26-.261Zm9.39.783a.522.522 0 1 0 0 1.043.522.522 0 0 0 0-1.043ZM4.87 9.804h6.26v2.043a.264.264 0 0 0 0 .086v2.045H4.87v-2.043a.261.261 0 0 0 0-.085V9.804Zm1.043.783a.262.262 0 0 0-.265.26.26.26 0 0 0 .265.262h4.174a.26.26 0 1 0 0-.522H5.913Zm0 1.043a.26.26 0 1 0 0 .522h3.13a.26.26 0 1 0 0-.522h-3.13Zm0 1.044a.26.26 0 1 0 0 .522h4.174a.262.262 0 0 0 .264-.261.26.26 0 0 0-.264-.261H5.913Z\" fill=\"#004B88\" stroke=\"#004B88\" stroke-width=\".5\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\tPrint\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<a href=\"mailto:?subject=Higher%20Premium%20Payments%20or%20Higher%20Deductibles%3A%20The%20Tradeoffs%20ACA%20Enrollees%20Face&#038;body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kff.org%2Fhealth-costs%2Fhigher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face%2F\" class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M2.333 4.25h-.25v9.14h12.5V4.25H2.333Zm1.083 1.693-.353-.2V5.23h10.54v.513l-.353.2L8.333 8.73 3.416 5.943Zm-.353 6.467V6.884l.107.06 5.04 2.857.123.07.123-.07 5.04-2.857.107-.06v5.526H3.063Z\" fill=\"#004B88\" stroke=\"#004B88\" stroke-width=\".5\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<button class=\"post-header__social-sharing__button copy\">\n\t\t\t<svg width=\"16\" height=\"17\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M11.533 2.9c-.615 0-1.23.235-1.697.702L8.502 4.936a2.4 2.4 0 0 0-.575 2.46l.958-.958a1.32 1.32 0 0 1 .371-.748l1.334-1.333a1.331 1.331 0 0 1 1.886 0c.52.52.52 1.365 0 1.885l-1.334 1.333c-.21.21-.474.331-.748.372l-.958.958a2.393 2.393 0 0 0 2.46-.576l1.334-1.333a2.402 2.402 0 0 0 0-3.394 2.393 2.393 0 0 0-1.697-.702Zm-1.61 3.46a.533.533 0 0 0-.367.162l-3.2 3.2a.533.533 0 1 0 .754.754l3.2-3.2a.534.534 0 0 0-.387-.915ZM6.586 7.973a2.388 2.388 0 0 0-1.816.697l-1.334 1.333a2.403 2.403 0 0 0 0 3.394 2.393 2.393 0 0 0 1.697.702c.614 0 1.229-.234 1.697-.702l1.333-1.334a2.4 2.4 0 0 0 .576-2.46l-.959.958a1.32 1.32 0 0 1-.37.749l-1.334 1.333a1.334 1.334 0 0 1-1.886-1.885l1.334-1.334c.21-.21.474-.331.748-.372l.958-.957c-.21-.07-.426-.11-.644-.122Z\" fill=\"#004B88\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\t<span>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollees are choosing between plans that charge higher premium payments and plans with higher deductibles. Many enrollees are considering these tradeoffs following the expiration of the ACA&#8217;s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025, according to a new\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthsystemtracker.org\/brief\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\">Health System Tracker analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While switching from a silver plan to a bronze plan could lower premium payments, the loss of cost-sharing reductions for deductibles and copays and the higher cost-sharing associated with a bronze plan may leave these enrollees worse off financially, depending on how much care they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full analysis and other data on health costs are available on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthsystemtracker.org\/\">Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker<\/a>, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.<\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"post-footer\">\n\t<div class=\"post-footer__title\">More On<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"post-footer__links\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/\">\n\t\t\t\tAffordable Care Act\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/health-costs\/\">\n\t\t\t\tHealth Costs\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/tag\/aca-marketplaces\/\">\n\t\t\t\tACA Marketplaces\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/tag\/high-deductible-plans\/\">\n\t\t\t\tHigh-Deductible Plans\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/tag\/individual-market\/\">\n\t\t\t\tIndividual Market\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/tag\/premiums\/\">\n\t\t\t\tPremiums\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/tag\/subsidies\/\">\n\t\t\t\tSubsidies\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-content-sidebar\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content--green wp-block-kff-shared-related-content\">\n\t<h2 class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__heading\">Related Content<\/h2>\n\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/patient-consumer-protections\/policy-changes-bring-renewed-focus-on-high-deductible-health-plans\/\" class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\tPolicy Changes Bring Renewed Focus on High-Deductible Health Plans \t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/quick-take\/aca-signups-are-down-but-still-an-incomplete-picture\/\" class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\tACA Signups Are Down, But Still an Incomplete Picture\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/public-opinion\/2025-kff-marketplace-enrollees-survey\/\" class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-kff-shared-related-content__card-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t1 in 3 ACA Marketplace Enrollees Say They\u2019d \u2018Very Likely\u2019 Shop for a Cheaper Plan If Their Premium Payments Doubled\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/section>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA\u2019s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155412884,"featured_media":701343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"authors":[],"exhibits":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","hide_from_search":false,"show_featured_image":false,"subheading":"","tag":"","search_keywords":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"shortlink":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3962798,1274092],"tags":[954238,14236611,24788933,301221,86400],"content-types":[579145483],"program":[],"series":[308329829],"partner":[],"class_list":["post-701322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-affordable-care-act","category-health-costs","tag-aca-marketplaces","tag-high-deductible-plans","tag-individual-market","tag-premiums","tag-subsidies","content-types-issue-brief","series-health-system-tracker"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA\u2019s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA\u2019s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KFF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kfftammies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kfftammies\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"kfftammies\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cd0e8eca53d2e7bc28ec7180026a3dde\"},\"headline\":\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\"},\"wordCount\":141,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png\",\"keywords\":[\"ACA Marketplaces\",\"High-Deductible Plans\",\"Individual Market\",\"Premiums\",\"Subsidies\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Affordable Care Act\",\"Health Costs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\",\"name\":\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/\",\"name\":\"KFF - The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news\",\"description\":\"The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KFF\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/KFF_Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/KFF_Black.png\",\"width\":3186,\"height\":1296,\"caption\":\"KFF\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF","description":"This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA\u2019s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF","og_description":"This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA\u2019s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/","og_site_name":"KFF","article_published_time":"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"kfftammies","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kfftammies","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/"},"author":{"name":"kfftammies","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/person\/cd0e8eca53d2e7bc28ec7180026a3dde"},"headline":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face","datePublished":"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/"},"wordCount":141,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","keywords":["ACA Marketplaces","High-Deductible Plans","Individual Market","Premiums","Subsidies"],"articleSection":["Affordable Care Act","Health Costs"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/","name":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face | KFF","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","datePublished":"2026-01-14T18:29:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-14T19:17:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/","name":"KFF - The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news","description":"The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#organization","name":"KFF","url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/KFF_Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/KFF_Black.png","width":3186,"height":1296,"caption":"KFF"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kff.org"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face","item":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Higher Premium Payments or Higher Deductibles: The Tradeoffs ACA Enrollees Face"}]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/FbZCq-higher-premium-payments-or-higher-deductibles-the-tradeoffs-aca-enrollees-face-FEATURE-IMAGE.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgulFb-2WrE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":383558,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/some-can-get-marketplace-plans-with-no-premiumsthough-with-higher-deductibles-and-cost-sharing\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":0},"title":"Some Can Get Marketplace Plans With No Premiums,Though With Higher Deductibles and Cost-Sharing","author":"kfftiffanyf","date":"Nov 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many low-income consumers who are eligible for federal financial help under the Affordable Care Act can get a bronze-level plan and pay nothing out-of-pocket in premiums in more than 2,000 counties next year, depending on their annual income, according to a\u00a0new analysis\u00a0from KFF (the Kaiser Family Foundation). Such plans come\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/11\/counties-where-the-lowest-cost-bronze-plan-premium-costs-550x412anna_newsrelease.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/11\/counties-where-the-lowest-cost-bronze-plan-premium-costs-550x412anna_newsrelease.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/11\/counties-where-the-lowest-cost-bronze-plan-premium-costs-550x412anna_newsrelease.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141714,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/the-cost-of-care-with-marketplace-coverage-old-141714\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":1},"title":"The Cost of Care with Marketplace Coverage","author":"Matthew Rae","date":"Feb 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This brief and accompanying slides examine cost sharing - deductibles, copayments and coinsurance - in 2015 insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) federally-facilitated marketplaces. The analysis looks at out-of-pocket limits, as well as cost sharing for hospital stays, physician visits, emergency room visits, and prescription drugs, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":169730,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/patient-cost-sharing-in-marketplace-plans-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":2},"title":"Patient Cost-Sharing in Marketplace Plans, 2016","author":"kffrabahk","date":"Nov 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This brief and accompanying slides examine cost sharing - deductibles, copayments and coinsurance - in 2016 insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) federally-facilitated marketplaces. The analysis looks at out-of-pocket limits, as well as cost sharing for hospital stays, physician visits, emergency room visits, and prescription drugs, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":143161,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/new-reports-analyze-cost-sharing-in-2015-aca-marketplace-plans-in-37-states\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":3},"title":"New Reports Analyze Cost Sharing in 2015 ACA Marketplace Plans in 37 States","author":"kffamyj","date":"Feb 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Charts Examine Savings from Subsidies at Stake in U.S. Supreme Court Case Cost-sharing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act can substantially reduce deductibles and other cost sharing for people with low incomes purchasing coverage in the federally-facilitated insurance marketplace serving 37 states, a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":575982,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/millions-of-uninsured-people-can-get-free-aca-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":4},"title":"Millions of Uninsured People Can Get Free ACA Plans","author":"kffjaredo","date":"Jan 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This post estimates that about 5 million uninsured people across the country could get coverage through an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plan with virtually no monthly premium if they enroll during the 2023 open enrollment period, which runs through Jan. 15 in most states.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/01\/5-Million-Graphic-for-Free-Plan-Analysis-011023-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/01\/5-Million-Graphic-for-Free-Plan-Analysis-011023-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/01\/5-Million-Graphic-for-Free-Plan-Analysis-011023-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/01\/5-Million-Graphic-for-Free-Plan-Analysis-011023-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":576085,"url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/about-5-million-uninsured-people-could-get-aca-marketplace-coverage-without-a-monthly-premium-but-they-would-have-to-enroll-soon\/","url_meta":{"origin":701322,"position":5},"title":"About 5 Million Uninsured People Could Get ACA Marketplace Coverage Without a Monthly Premium \u2013 But They Would Have to Enroll Soon","author":"kfftiffanyf","date":"Jan 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"About 5 million uninsured people across the country could get coverage through an Affordable Care Act Marketplace health plan with virtually no monthly premium if they enroll soon, a new KFF analysis finds. In most states, open enrollment runs through January 15, with tax credits available to help eligible low-\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Affordable Care Act&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/topic\/affordable-care-act\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/FEATURE-News-Release_1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/FEATURE-News-Release_1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/FEATURE-News-Release_1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kff.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/10\/FEATURE-News-Release_1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"primary_topic":"Health Costs","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-02-23 06:27:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KFF","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.kff.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155412884"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701322"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701340,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701322\/revisions\/701340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701322"},{"taxonomy":"content-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-types?post=701322"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=701322"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=701322"},{"taxonomy":"partner","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partner?post=701322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}