This year, Tami Butters and her husband paid about $500 per month for health insurance for both of them. Next year, the price will double, even with one less person using it.<\/p>\n
Butters, 64, expects to pay about $1,000 per month if she keeps the same insurance plan she bought on Colorado\u2019s marketplace this year. Her husband, who is turning 65, will be eligible for Medicare, or they\u2019d have to pay closer to $2,000 in monthly premiums, she said.<\/p>\n
They plan to \u201cwait until the last minute\u201d in case Congress acts to extend higher subsidies for people buying insurance on the individual marketplace, and to shop around for the best deal, Butters said. But since they already have one of the less-expensive options, with a $6,500 deductible, they may not find significant savings.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, it means we may not be able to enjoy everything we planned for in retirement,\u201d she said during a news conference held by U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen and Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday afternoon. \u201cFor others, it may mean choosing between paying for housing and paying for food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Data shows the Butters aren\u2019t alone. People between 55 and 64 who receive tax credits to subsidize their insurance will pay an average of 144% more in 2026 than they paid this year, for an increase of about $235 per month, according to Connect for Health Colorado<\/a>, which runs the state-based marketplace.<\/p>\n Across demographic groups, customers who received subsidies will pay 100% more than they did this year, meaning premiums will double, on average<\/a>. People who didn\u2019t get tax credits will pay about 27% more.<\/p>\n The amount that marketplace consumers pay for their insurance monthly depends on both the \u201csticker price\u201d of their plan and the amount of any tax credits they qualify for. This year, the sticker price is going up \u2014 as it typically does \u2014 while the subsidies are going down<\/a> because enhanced tax credits put in place during the pandemic expire at the end of December.<\/p>\n A disagreement over the future of the subsidies is driving the government shutdown, which has lasted more than four weeks. Democrats want to extend the enhanced subsidies, while Republicans are divided between those who want to end them and those who would consider a deal after the government reopens<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nationwide, the sticker price of premiums is rising 26%, but the amount people actually pay is jumping because subsidies are returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the health policy nonprofit KFF<\/a>. The organization estimated that costs to customers will more than double.<\/p>\n People who receive job-based insurance also don\u2019t pay the full cost of their premiums, though employers vary in their generosity. A 2025 KFF survey of more than 1,800 employers<\/a> found that workers paid an average of about $7,000 toward the $27,000 cost of insuring a family for the year. Employer-paid premiums are largely tax-exempt<\/a>, meaning that subsidizing their workers\u2019 insurance costs is an advantageous way to compensate them.<\/p>\n Older people aren\u2019t the only group that can expect above-average premium increases.<\/p>\n In some rural Colorado counties, the premiums consumers pay will triple, and they\u2019ll come close to quadrupling in Custer County, Pettersen said during the new conference. Pettersen, a Democrat, represents the 7th Congressional District, covering the western edge of the Front Range and parts of the high country.<\/p>\n