Will we be able to afford insurance in 2026?

An Arm and a Leg

Society & Culture, Medicine, Health, Health & Fitness, Documentary

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For the first time, our senior producer, Emily, has to sign up for Obamacare. And it turns out, it’s one heck of a year to do that.

A recent headline from KFF Health News reads: “Insurers and customers brace for double whammy to Obamacare premiums.”

We break down what those “whammies” might mean in dollars and cents for Emily and the millions of others signing up for Obamacare in 2026.

Plus, we cover what’s happening with ACA navigators – the people charged with helping you sign up for Obamacare, and what to expect in November when open enrollment kicks off.

Learn more about what’s coming in 2026 in our First Aid Kit newsletter.

Check out KFF’s Obamacare premium calculator.

Learn whether your state funds its own navigator program.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's rare to find a podcast that can actually change your life.
0:03.8	But when the show is called Life Kit, that's kind of the whole point.
0:07.9	I'm Mariel Segarra.
0:09.1	Three times a week on the Life Kit podcast, we guide you through a topic we could all use help with.
0:13.6	From personal development to healthy living to managing your dinero,
0:17.0	with takeaways so you can start living what you learn right away.
0:21.1	Escouche a Life Kit podcast from NPR.
0:24.1	Hey there.
0:25.1	Over the summer, our pals at KFF Health News published a story with the headline,
0:30.2	insurers and customers braced for double whammy to Obamacare premiums.
0:35.3	So basically, whammy number one, insurers are planning to raise premiums for 2026,
0:42.3	like by a lot.
0:44.3	And whammy number two, federal subsidies for Obamacare policies are scheduled to get a lot less
0:50.3	generous.
0:51.3	So together, these whammies mean millions of people will be looking at paying a lot more
0:57.8	every month, like hundreds of dollars more. So folks are going to need as much advanced warning as
1:04.4	possible to figure out how to prepare for a hit like that, meaning this is our kind of story.
1:12.1	And this one hates a little close to home because one of those folks is an arm and a leg's
1:19.0	senior producer, Emily P. Cicreda.
1:21.5	Yeah, it's a wild time.
1:23.6	I've never had to do this before because I've always had health insurance through work.
1:29.2	Actually, I've totally shaped my life around that because I have diabetes.
	...

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