Pennsylvania’s health care marketplace released data on average insurance cost increases in 2026 as media reports that Senate negotiations to restore the subsidies are “effectively over.”
The subsidies that began in 2021 saw enrollment rise by 50% through 2025, according to Pennie data. That changed when the subsidies expired.
“Open enrollment 2026 ended on January 31, 2026, and an unprecedented 85,000 Pennie enrollees made the choice to leave coverage offered through Pennie,” officials wrote on Pennie’s website. “Many of these individuals are now uninsured.”
For those who remained on Pennie insurance, their premiums rose by an average of 156%. But are Bucks County residents seeing their health insurance costs change?
Bucks County residents on Pennie insurance saw their premiums rise an average of 66% per policy, according to state data, or $134 per member per month.
Pennie also offers data roughly corresponding to Bucks County’s congressional district, Pennsylvania’s First District, represented by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, which includes a slice of eastern Montgomery County.
Bucks County area health insurance premiums up 66% after ACA credits expire
Those in Bucks and eastern Montco who saw the largest spike are those with household incomes between 138% and 150% of the federal poverty line, — roughly $23,000 for a single-person household, and $47,000 for a family of four.
Local enrollees in those income brackets saw their monthly payments rise 124% since their credits expired, or $65 per month per person.
Other income brackets that saw the highest spikes in our area included those just above the poverty line — a 69% hike — and those making between $24,000 and $32,000 for a single person or $49,500–$66,000 for a family of four, with an average rise of 86%.
Income brackets that saw lower than average cost spikes in PA-01 included the wealthiest income bracket — 700% of the poverty line — with 31% higher costs, and those earning between 300% and 400% of the federal poverty line, which is around $48,000 to $64,000 for a single person, seeing only a 25% spike.
