Washington D.C — USA Today highlighted a new finding from the Commonwealth Fund showing that the high cost of health insurance and health care is a top concern for Americans. While Americans are calling for relief, congressional Republicans’ health care agenda amounts to a double whammy for working families: Americans are already facing higher costs for ACA plans after Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire, and the implementation of their Medicaid cuts threatens to further squeeze families’ wallets.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, more than 3 million ACA enrollees had to drop their coverage as of February amid higher monthly premiums and the expiration of enhanced subsidies. At a time when Americans are overwhelmingly focused on bringing health care costs down, Republicans in Congress are pursuing policies that risk pushing them even higher.
“Americans want lower health care costs, but families are faced with a double whammy of higher costs for ACA coverage alongside Republican Medicaid cuts,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Republicans in Congress should listen to what people are asking for and focus on lowering health care costs, rather than pursuing policies that could put even more pressure on families’ budgets.”
USA TODAY: Americans want lower health care costs. This is how they’d get it
Key Points:
- On this much Democrats and Republicans agree: The cost of health insurance and health care are the biggest problems in health care today.
- A new survey said more than 4 in 10 adults cited the cost of health insurance as the biggest problem that needs to be fixed in the U.S. health care system. That sentiment was consistent across political affiliation, with 45% of Republicans, 44% of Democrats and 42% of independents naming health insurance as their top concern, according to the Commonwealth Fund survey of more than 25,000 adults.
- Millions of Americans who get Affordable Care Act health insurance this year are paying substantially more for health insurance premiums, and the survey shows consumers who get this type of insurance are anxious about their ability to pay for coverage to get needed medical care.
- More than 3 million ACA enrollees dropped their coverage as of February amid higher monthly premiums and the expiration of enhanced subsidies that made the health insurance more affordable. When Congress didn’t extend the enhanced subsidies that expired at the end of 2025, average costs for ACA enrollees who wanted to keep their insurance plans soared 114% in 2026, according to KFF, a health policy nonprofit.
- More than half of survey participants who bought ACA plans or other coverage directly from insurance companies cited cost as their biggest worry, the survey said.
- “If people aren’t able to afford their (ACA) premiums, and we’re already seeing evidence of that, they’re going to become uninsured,” Collins said.
- The Commonwealth Fund survey said about 44% of adults who get their insurance through the workplace cited the cost of those plans as their top concern. Employers typically pick up most of the cost of health insurance, but workers must pay a portion of the tab, usually through paycheck deductions.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.