The cost of health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace is up, and Florida saw the largest number of people fall off the rolls compared to any other state in the nation, according to government data released last week.
The numbers show 261,115 fewer people in Florida enrolled on healthcare.gov, compared with the same time last year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Florida had 4.74 million people enrolled on the ACA marketplace for health insurance in 2025, and 4.47 million so far in 2026.
As enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025, some experts predicted a million people would drop their coverage in Florida.
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"We're still waiting to see how many folks have actually fallen off coverage," said Scott Darius, executive director of Florida Voices for Health, because the full picture may not emerge until next month.
"Typically if people have dropped off, they don't alert the insurance company that they're not signing up. They just don't pay the premium. And so we'll wait to see what that settled number looks like," he said.
For now, it appears Florida lost 5.5% of its total enrollment. The state still has the most enrollees in the nation, followed by Texas and California.
"It's the people who are the backbone of Florida's economy who are suffering the most," said Darius.
"Gig workers, people in retail, food service, anyone who's a working stiff, earning a paycheck, probably saw their rates go up."
Medicaid is not an option for many lower wage workers in Florida, because Florida is among the states that have declined federal dollars set aside to expand the program.
Some people have chosen less expansive or high-deductible coverage plans, sought jobs with benefits or dropped their insurance altogether.
According to the nonprofit health policy research group, KFF, those who received subsidies and purchased Obamacare were projected to see their monthly payments more than double, increasing by about 114%.
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