Your Health Insurance Premium Went Up. Here Is What to Do Next

First, figure out which number went up

Renewal letters show more than one figure, and people often react to the wrong one. Find these three on your notice or in your HealthCare.gov account:

• The plan's full price. What the plan costs before any tax credit. This rises when the carrier raises rates or when you move into an older age band.
• Your tax credit. The help applied each month. This changes when your income estimate, household size or the federal rules change.
• What you pay. The full price minus the credit. This is the number that hits your bank account.

If the full price rose a little but what you pay rose a lot, the cause is almost always the tax credit, not the carrier.

The four usual reasons for a big jump

1. The enhanced subsidy expired. From 2021 through 2025, the credit was larger and had no income ceiling. It ended on December 31, 2025. Households above 400 percent of the poverty level lost the credit entirely, and households below it now pay a larger share of income. The subsidy cliff guide has the 2027 income lines.
2. Carrier rate increases. Insurers file new rates every year. Early 2027 filings in Florida point to another double-digit average increase in the individual market, and filings are rising in many other states too.
3. Your age band moved. On both Marketplace and private plans, premiums step up with age. Turning 50, 55 or 60 can add a noticeable amount by itself.
4. Your plan changed underneath you. Carriers retire plans and move members into a replacement, sometimes with a different network or deductible. If you are auto-renewed into a different plan, the price you see belongs to a plan you never chose.

Step 1: Update your income estimate

The Marketplace uses whatever income estimate is on file. If it is last year's number and your income has changed, your credit is wrong in one direction or the other. Log in to HealthCare.gov, update the application with a realistic estimate for next year, and look at the new price. If you are self-employed, use a careful projection rather than a hopeful one. Underestimating to get a bigger credit only means repaying it in April.

Step 2: Do not let auto-renewal decide

If you do nothing, the Marketplace usually re-enrolls you in the same plan or a close substitute. That is convenient and often expensive. Plans and prices shift every year, and a plan that was the best value last year can be the most expensive option on the same street this year. Compare the full list during open enrollment, which for 2027 runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. Choose by December 15 if you want the new plan to start January 1.

Step 3: Re-check the metal level

People pick a metal level once and never revisit it. After a rate increase, the math between levels moves:

• Silver is the only level with extra cost-sharing help for lower incomes. If your income is near the lower end of the subsidy range, staying on silver can be worth it.
• Bronze has a lower premium and a higher deductible. Since 2026, every bronze Marketplace plan is HSA-eligible, which makes it more attractive for healthy people who can fund an account. The HSA guide explains how that works.
• Gold can make sense for people who use a lot of care, even at a higher premium, because the deductible and copays are lower.

Step 4: Check the network before you switch

The cheapest plan in a county is often the cheapest for a reason. Before switching to save money, confirm that your doctors, your preferred hospital and your prescriptions are covered. A lower premium that sends you out of network for an existing specialist is not a savings.

Step 5: Price a private plan next to it

If you are in good health and your income is above the subsidy range, or close to it, a private medically underwritten plan is the comparison most people never make. These plans are priced on age, zip code and health instead of income, so losing the tax credit does not change their price. Many use a national PPO network. They are not for everyone, because a significant health history can lead to a higher rate, an exclusion or a decline. For a healthy household, though, the difference can be large. The private versus Marketplace guide lays out the trade-offs.

Step 6: If you already have a private plan

Private plans can raise rates at renewal too. Ask what the new rate is based on, whether any rate guarantee is ending, and whether a newer plan from the same or another carrier would price lower for you today. Because private plans can start the first of any month if approved, you are not limited to open enrollment. If you are still healthy, switching mid-year is possible, as long as the new plan is approved before you cancel the old one.

Things not to do

• Do not cancel and go uninsured while you figure it out. A gap can leave you without a guaranteed way back in until the next open enrollment.
• Do not shave your income estimate to qualify for a bigger credit. The difference is due at tax time.
• Do not cancel a plan before the new one is approved. For private plans especially, keep the old coverage until the new policy is issued.

Reading the renewal letter line by line

Marketplace renewal notices follow a similar pattern. Here is what each part usually means:

• Your current plan for next year. The plan you will be re-enrolled into if you do nothing. If it says your plan is being discontinued, the listed plan is a substitute the Marketplace picked for you.
• Monthly premium. The full price of that plan for your household next year.
• Estimated tax credit. Based on the income you last reported. If that income is out of date, this number is too.
• Your estimated monthly payment. Premium minus credit.
• Deadlines. The date to make changes for a January 1 start, and the last day of open enrollment.

Carriers send their own letter too, which often shows only the full premium. That is why two letters about the same plan can show very different numbers.

A typical example

A self-employed electrician in Brandon, 56, single, renewed last year with a tax credit that covered most of his silver plan. His 2027 notice shows the same plan at a higher full price, a much smaller credit, and a monthly payment several times what he paid in 2025.

Breaking it down, three things happened at once. The enhanced credit ended, so his expected contribution rose. The carrier raised its rates. And his income estimate on file was two years old and too low, which meant his credit was overstated anyway. Once we updated his income, his real choice was between a full-price Marketplace plan and a private plan priced on his health. He was healthy, so the private plan won by a wide margin, and he started it January 1. A neighbor of his with a heart condition, in nearly the same situation, stayed on the Marketplace and moved from silver to a bronze plan with an HSA. Same letter, different right answer.

If your income dropped

A lower income can work in your favor. If you lost a client, cut back hours or retired early, your tax credit for next year may be larger than the renewal notice shows, because the notice uses your old income. Update the application before you compare plans. If your income falls close to the lower end of the range, a silver plan may also come with lower out-of-pocket costs through cost-sharing reductions, which can make silver a better value than bronze. In Florida, remember that income below the poverty line does not qualify for a credit, and most adults without children do not qualify for Medicaid, so estimate carefully.

If you are on an employer plan

Employer premiums are rising too, and the same logic applies on a smaller scale. Compare the employee contribution for each tier during your employer's open enrollment, check whether a spouse's employer plan is cheaper for the family, and look at the HSA option if one is offered. If your employer's family coverage is expensive, it is sometimes cheaper to keep the employee on the employer plan and cover the rest of the family separately. I run that comparison regularly for families in that position.

What a review with me looks like

You send me the renewal notice, your zip code, the ages on the policy, an income estimate and any doctors or prescriptions you need to keep. In one call I show you what the renewal really costs, the best Marketplace alternatives with your correct credit, and private options priced on your health, with the networks checked. Then I tell you which one I would pick. There is no fee, because the carrier pays the broker. Request a quote or call or text (786) 218-2384.