Enrollment window: Nov. 1 \u2013 Jan. 31, 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nJessica Altman, executive director of Covered California, said in an interview this week that the average premium charged by insurers statewide is about $700 a month. More than 90% of enrollees receive federal tax credits, she said, which lower the average monthly bill to roughly $150. If those enhanced tax credits expire, the monthly premium would roughly double to $300.<\/p>\n
Thousands would lose all subsidies<\/p>\n
Before 2021, Affordable Care Act premium tax credits were given on a sliding scale to those making between 100% and 400% of poverty. During the pandemic, Congress beefed up those tax credits and eliminated the eligibility \u201ccliff\u201d that excluded middle-income earners making more than four times the poverty threshold.<\/p>\n
That cliff was replaced with a rule that said no one should pay more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance, Altman said. That means that when the enhanced tax credits expire, middle-income residents will have to pay the full cost of their health insurance plans.<\/p>\n
The numbers are significant.<\/p>\n
In Sonoma County, 4,190 Covered California enrollees would lose all their subsidies and be forced to pay the full amount of their monthly premium. In Napa County, that number is 1,040 people.<\/p>\n
On average, in Sonoma County this middle-income group receives a monthly subsidy of $506 to help pay for a premium that would otherwise cost $988. In Napa County, the average monthly subsidy is $482 for a premium that costs $968.<\/p>\n
For North Bay residents, those changes could mean hundreds of dollars more each month in out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re that person making $70,000 a year who is going to lose eligibility for all of your tax credits, you\u2019re looking at a really large increase in what you pay each month,\u201d Altman said. \u201cYou\u2019re going from paying 8.5% of your income or less (annually) to paying the full premium.\u201d<\/p>\n
Altman said there\u2019s still a chance Congress will come to some sort of agreement on the government shutdown that will result in an extension of the enhanced tax subsidies. She said Covered California began notifying its enrollees in mid-October how much their premiums would be going up after the enhanced tax credits expire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is a compromise and an extension out of Washington, we are absolutely ready to implement that as quickly as we possibly can,\u201d Altman said.<\/p>\n
Local impacts and what\u2019s ahead<\/p>\n
The Press Democrat this week asked readers how their monthly premiums are being affected. One reader said his premium is rising 12% on a plan that covers a family of four. Another reader said his premium is increasing by $2,500 a month.<\/p>\n
There are currently 25,740 residents in Sonoma County enrolled in health insurance plans purchased through Covered California. That number is 6,440 in Napa County.<\/p>\n
Altman said her agency estimates that about 400,000 of Covered California\u2019s 2 million enrollees statewide could drop their health insurance as a result of the expiring subsidies \u2014 roughly 1 in 5. Applied locally, that suggests more than 6,000 residents in Sonoma and Napa counties may abandon their exchange plans.<\/p>\n
Altman said Covered California will still be the most affordable place for most of the agency\u2019s enrollees to get coverage if their \u201cincome situation stays where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people \u2014 if they\u2019re willing to shop, if they\u2019re willing to consider other options \u2014 do have health plans available on Covered California that cost less than the one that they\u2019re enrolled in today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Altman added that while average monthly premium increases in Napa and Sonoma counties could exceed $170, some residents will see much smaller hikes. The state also allocated $190 million to soften the blow, though she said that \u201ccannot fill the federal hole \u2014 the enhanced tax credits are about $2.5 billion a year for California.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the enhanced premium tax credits were passed in 2021, enrollment increased by nearly 12% in both counties.<\/p>\n
The open enrollment period for 2026 coverage began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2026. Altman said the state agency is trying to be \u201chonest and truthful\u201d about premium hikes and the elimination of enhanced tax credits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not naive,\u201d she said. \u201cAny time you\u2019re looking at something getting more expensive \u2014 and something as important to people as their health care \u2014 this is going to be hard for a lot of people to understand and to make decisions on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, it isn\u2019t necessarily the final word,\u201d Altman added. \u201cThere is still a chance that\u2026this government shutdown ends and there is some sort of compromise struck.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @pressreno.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 23,000 residents in Sonoma County and 5,800 in Napa County could see their health insurance bills…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":362716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[7023,175902,134950,49089,210,1141,3270,175908,106995,1142,175907,175904,175910,175906,175909,175905,175903,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-362715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-affordable-care-act","9":"tag-covered-california","10":"tag-federal-tax-credits","11":"tag-government-shutdown","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-health-care","14":"tag-health-care-costs","15":"tag-health-coverage-california","16":"tag-health-insurance-premiums","17":"tag-healthcare","18":"tag-jessica-altman","19":"tag-napa-county-health-insurance","20":"tag-open-enrollment-2026","21":"tag-pandemic-era-subsidies","22":"tag-premium-hikes","23":"tag-premium-subsidies","24":"tag-sonoma-county-health-insurance","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115509748368722096","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}