Many Americans are preparing for higher health insurance bills next year, and a 2024 campaign clip from Donald Trump has begun circulating again online. Speaking at his Bedminster, New Jersey, property before the midterms, Trump described a Democratic win as a shift into a system he opposed.
“You’re all going to be thrown into a communist system. You’re going to be thrown into a system where everybody gets healthcare,” he said. The comments framed universal coverage itself as the problem rather than a solution.
Reactions on social media have been mixed. One person suggested the remark captured genuine resistance to the idea of equal access. “I know it sounds crazy, but Trump is speaking to a real concern amongst bigots. There really are people who can’t stand the idea that a poor person has the same high-quality healthcare as them. All white supremacists have is perceived social status,” they wrote. Another commenter offered a blunt comparison, stating, “Public healthcare does sound better than public executions…”
Workplace coverage and individual plans set for major cost increases next year
Roughly 160 million people get health insurance through an employer, according to Time. Large benefits consulting firms expect total costs for these plans to climb 8 to 10 percent in 2027. That would be the biggest jump in more than two decades and about twice the typical yearly rise during the 2010s. For an average worker, the increase is projected to add roughly $400 to $500.
The estimates include both the premiums workers pay directly and the larger share covered by employers. Studies indicate employees often absorb the employer portion through smaller raises. Companies are also tightening plan designs to contain spending. Many are raising deductibles or scaling back benefits. Coverage of GLP-1 drugs for obesity, for example, has already dropped among large employers from 72 percent to 60 percent.
People buying coverage on their own through the ACA marketplaces saw costs jump earlier. Enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025 after Congress left them out of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
According to KFF, after-subsidy premiums then rose an average of 114 percent, equal to about $1,000 a year. Enrollment fell 12 percent, from 21.8 million to 19.2 million. Only New Mexico saw growth, after the state used its own money to replace the federal subsidies.
Some enrollees switched to less generous bronze plans to limit the damage. The share of people in those plans rose from 30 percent to 40 percent, and the average deductible climbed more than $1,000 to $3,786. Even so, the average monthly premium paid in 2026 reached $178, 58 percent higher than the year before and above the $164 average from 2021. Insurers have now proposed an additional 15 percent increase for 2027, on top of this year’s 20 percent rise.
Medicaid faces its own set of changes beginning January 1, 2027. The same law requires adults covered under the expansion in 44 states and the District of Columbia to document 80 hours a month of work, school, or community service.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the requirement will eventually remove about 5.7 million people from the program by 2034, leaving 5.3 million more without insurance. When Arkansas tested a similar rule in 2018, employment levels did not rise.
More than 18,000 people still lost coverage within seven months, even though 95 percent either met the standard or qualified for an exemption. The administration has also drawn criticism over 750,000 people losing healthcare coverage.
Other provisions, including eligibility checks every six months instead of once a year, shorter retroactive coverage, and limits on provider taxes states use to fund their share, lead the CBO to project 7.5 million additional uninsured people by 2034 overall.
A KFF survey of 1,328 adults, including 1,013 registered voters, conducted from September 16 to 21 found that 60 percent of voters worry about affording health care for themselves and their families. Sixty-six percent of adults said they support a national health plan in which everyone would receive coverage from a single government program, the highest level KFF has measured since it first asked the question in 2016.
Published: Oct 19, 2026 09:00 am