2026 ACA Healthcare Premium Shot UP....WAY UP

[SiouzQ.]

Welp, that is what I was afraid of - I just went into my account at BeWellNewMexico (the ACA insurance exchange in New Mexico) and based on the income we had last year (which is really screwed up because K. lost his his really good job and has been on unemployment since July), my ACA payment for a BlueCross plan that has been $368 per month since I got it in August is now going to be $1,702.89, which literally swallows up my entire Social Security and then some...

2025 has been a year of change for us since K. lost his job at the end of June. So the loss of my subsidy is based on our extraploated income from everything thing that happened this year - 6 months of his really good paychecks plus my SSDI and a small IRA payment. Our income for 2026 will be vastly different, as K. will be officially retiring in December. So before I panic, I will call my insurance agent on Monday to see what can be done, see if our new 2026 income will be adjusted to reflect our actual reality.
Otherwise, I think I will have to wing it without insurance until I am eligible for early Medicare in May 2026...

[Tybee]

Oh Siouz, that is horrible. I can see how you would want to wing it, and May 2026 is pretty darn soon.

[pinkytoe]

I am sure there are many in the same boat scratching their heads on how to get by with the price increases. In your shoes, I would probably go without and pay out of pocket until you get Medicare.

[Rogar]

Hard to say what I would do, but I might check out some sort of high deductible policy to cover major issues to bridge the gap?

I have used an insurance broker in the past and it was helfpul on another issue.

[rosarugosa]

I would never "wing it" concerning health insurance, unless it absolutely meant I would go hungry or homeless to pay the premium.

[happystuff]

YIKES! That is a huge jump! I hope things work out for you.

[Tybee]

My Part D premium is nine times what it was 2 years ago.

[early morning]

And here I was, grumping that our out of pocket increased like $500. I'll shut up now. SiouzQ, I did a high deductible / catastrophic plan for the period between leaving work and becoming Medicare eligible. Scrambled to get as much of my yearly testing in before my severance, as my insurance was covered thru that period. I contacted a broker to help me find a plan that was affordable but would kick in before we'd have to sell the house, lol. I'd certainly look into that before going without all together. Hope all goes well!

[Tybee]

I think that's great advice, Siouz. Going without is so risky, and I really like the suggestion to get as much done before the end of the year.

[SiouzQ.]

Crisis averted! I just spoke to my insurance agent and he ran our projected 2026 income numbers and it turns out that I now qualify for a NM BlueCross plan that is just $20 more than what I have been paying for the past few months. It also has a lower deductable and a MUCH lower out-of-pocket maxium.
I am so relieved but I worry for all those others out there that will have a really hard choice to make.