Thousands of Washington state residents dropped their health insurance after pandemic-era subsidies expired at the end of 2025. The loss of this financial aid caused a spike in the price of Affordable Care Act plans, potentially forcing many to go uninsured.
Data from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange’s spring enrollment shows that approximately 250,000 people signed up for ACA insurance this year on Washington Healthplanfinder. That is down from last year by about 13%, or nearly 40,000 fewer people.
This is the largest drop in enrollment since Washington Healthplanfinder launched in 2012, according to a benefit exchange news release.
“What we're seeing here is really an affordability crisis for folks, this is driven largely by the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits,” said Laura Kate Zaichkin, the benefit exchange’s director of market competition and affordability.
The pandemic-era tax credits were instated in 2021 as a temporary measure, but were later extended through the end of 2025. The subsidies lowered the cost of ACA insurance plans for individuals and households whose income is four times the federal poverty level. They also helped low-income households that did not qualify for Medicaid, such as green-card holders who had not met the required waiting period before being allowed to enroll in the program.
As the expiration date for the subsidies approached last year, congressional Democrats called on their Republican colleagues to extend the tax credits, but conservative lawmakers refused. This led to a 43-day government shutdown, which eventually resulted in the tax credits expiring.
Now, insurance prices for many Washington families who previously qualified for these subsidies have skyrocketed. On average, according to Zaichkin, those households are now paying more than $700 a month for health coverage.
“These are folks who are not receiving their health insurance through their employer. They're entrepreneurs. They work for a small business,” she said. “In many cases, when health insurance is no longer affordable, that impacts other parts of their lives.”
Federal insurance subsidies are still available for households that meet income requirements. For an individual living in the contiguous U.S. to qualify, their income can not exceed about $63,840 annually. For two-person family, their annual income cannot go above approximately $86,560.
Zaichkin believes most of the people who did not enroll in an ACA insurance plan this year are going without health coverage, and she expects that number to continue to rise.
