Originally posted 06/20/2026

via the Rhode Island Insurance Commissioner:

2027 Requested Commercial Health Insurance Rates Have Been Submitted to OHIC for Review

The Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) today released the individual, small group, and large group market premium rates requested by Rhode Island’s insurers. The requests were filed as part of OHIC’s rate review process (for coverage effective on or after January 1, 2027).

“Health insurers are once again seeking rate increases to cover the rising cost of health care and other expenses,” said Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King. He continued: “OHIC will thoroughly review these requests to determine whether they are justified.”

Two insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (NHPRI), filed rates for plans to be sold on the individual market to people and families who do not receive insurance through their employer.

"In other words, Republicans’ insistence that they have a superior alternative to Obamacare is a zombie lie — a claim that should be dead after having been proved false again and again, but it is still shambling along, eating people’s brains."

--Paul Krugman, NY Times, 6/29/20

This is perhaps the 3rd or even 4th time that I've written a post debunking this particular Republican zombie lie, but usually I've included it as part of a larger post debunking other silly claims as well. Since it's making the rounds again I figured I should write something up which addresses it standalone.

The Trump Regime has published an update to the official Medicaid/CHIP enrollment data:

April 2026 Key Findings

Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment

  • In June 2026, 73.2 million individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
  • 66.0 million individuals were enrolled in Medicaid, and 7.2 million individuals were enrolled in CHIP.
  • 38.1 million adults were enrolled in Medicaid, and there were 35.0 million Medicaid child and CHIP enrollees.

Total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment in June 2026 dropped about 1.1% from May 2026, or another ~808,000 people.

Originally posted 08/11/2026

ACA exchange enrollment has dropped by over 14% in Tennessee since Congressional Republicans allowed the enhanced federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year.

Initial signups during Open Enrollment were down 11.4% vs. OEP 2025...but effectuated enrollment dropped by 14% year over year as of February.

That's over 72,000 Tennesseans who already lost coverage in just the first two months of the year...a number which has likely continued to climb since then.

Here's what this looks like visually, with both 2025 and 2019 (the last pre-COVID year, which didn't include the enhanced subsidies) included for comparison:

Originally posted 8/31/26

SEE BELOW FOR IMPORTANT UPDATES!!

I've finally completed my state-by-state individual & small group health insurance market analyses of the preliminary 2027 rate filings for all 50 states (+DC), so it't time to take a moment to check in and see where things stand overall.

There's some important caveats, of course:

Originally posted 6/26/26

via the Maryland Insurance Administration:

Health Carriers Propose Affordable Care Act Premium Rates for 2027

Proactive policies of the Moore Administration and General Assembly ensure that Maryland's individual premium rates remain among the lowest in the nation, in spite of federal pressures due to changing Exchange rules and continued lack of expansion of enhanced tax credits​

BALTIMORE – The Maryland Insurance Administration has received the 2027 proposed premium rates for Affordable Care Act products offered by health and dental carriers in the individual, non-Medigap and small group markets, which impact approximately 482,000 Marylanders and represents 19% of the commercial health insurance market.

Originally posted 7/13/26

Hoo boy. Via the Georgia Insurance Dept., I've acquired the preliminary 2027 individual market rate filings for Georgia insurers, and it's not pretty.

Unfortunately, all of the actuarial memos are pretty heavily redacted so I don't have a lot of useful details to post, but the bottom line is:

Originally posted 8/28/26

ACA exchange enrollment has dropped by more than 10% in Florida since Congressional Republicans allowed the enhanced federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year.

Initial signups during Open Enrollment were only down 4% vs. OEP 2025...but effectuated enrollment was 7.7% lower year over year in January, rising to 10.3% lower as of February.

That's over 440,000 Floridians who already lost healthcare coverage in just the first two months of the year...a number which has likely continued to climb since then.

Originally posted 7/28/26

Before I begin, it's important to note that ACA exchange enrollment has plummeted in Louisiana since Congressional Republicans allowed the enhanced federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year.

Initial signups during the 2026 Open Enrollment Period were actually up slightly vs. OEP 2025...but actual effectuated enrollment was 2.3% lower as of January...and then fell off a cliff in February, with enrollment dropping a stunning 26% vs. a year earlier. That's over 69,000 Louisianans who were priced out of coverage in just the first two months of the year:

via Wikipedia:

Medicare Advantage (technically "Medicare Part C" & originally called "Medicare+Choice") is a type of health plan in the United States offered by private companies as part of the original Social Security Act of 1965 that created Medicare. It permits a private insurance option that wraps around traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans attempt to fill some coverage gaps and offer alternative coverage options.

Under Part C, Medicare pays a plan operator a fixed payment for each enrollee. The operator then pays for their medical expenses. Traditional Medicare directly compensates providers on a fee-for-service basis. Plans are offered by integrated health delivery systems, labor unions, non profit charities, and health insurance companies, which may limit enrollment to specific groups of people (such as union members).

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