More than 22,000 people enrolled in Affordable Care Act health plans in Connecticut in 2026 lost coverage in the first six months of the year after failing to make their premium payments — a 75% increase over the same period last year, according to data from Access Health CT.
The surge in nonpayment follows the expiration at the end of last year of COVID-era federal subsidies that helped upwards of 20 million Americans, including roughly 143,000 Connecticut residents, afford healthcare.
But while the number of people who lost coverage increased this year, overall enrollment in ACA plans remained relatively steady, even with the federal changes. Roughly 151,300 residents were enrolled in an Access Health plan as of June 2026, compared to around 155,500 in June 2025, a net loss of about 4,200.
Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, who co-chairs the legislature’s Human Services Committee, called the trend a “catastrophe” brought on by the Trump administration.
“It is an example of the federal government under the president and his MAGA allies waging war on affordable healthcare,” Lesser said.
The battle over whether to renew the ACA subsidies before they expired on Dec. 31 of last year drove the longest shutdown in U.S. history, with Democrats refusing to pass the Republicans’ budget bill if the subsidies weren’t extended.
Under the Affordable Care Act, households earning between 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level are eligible for financial help to afford plans purchased on state-based exchanges such as Access Health CT.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government expanded eligibility to those who make more than 400% of the federal poverty level, capping the cost of a benchmark plan at 8.5% of that household’s annual income.
The expanded subsidies, known as “enhanced premium tax credits,” lapsed at the end of last year.
In response, Gov. Ned Lamont allocated roughly $115 million from the emergency response fund to offset some of the federal subsidy cuts for the state’s lowest-income Access Health enrollees and others who were set to lose all financial assistance. The Connecticut legislature last November passed the emergency response fund, which tapped $500 million in state reserves to help respond to federal cuts.
Connecticut is one of only a few states that offered a state subsidy to offset the loss of enhanced federal subsidies. Others include Maryland, California and New Mexico.
Access Health CT director of legal and government affairs Susan Rich-Bye clarified that not everyone who rolled off their ACA plan necessarily lost coverage altogether. They may have enrolled in a plan through an employer or government program, she said.
In a survey of around 480 Access Health enrollees who had coverage last year but not this year, 63% reported being enrolled in some other type of coverage, while the remaining respondents said they no longer had health coverage.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said it’s also possible some businesses that were encouraged to enroll employees on the exchange when the federal subsidies were in place may have returned to providing health coverage directly to their employees.
Candelora said he thought the federal cuts had gone too far (he voted in favor of the emergency response fund), but he also disagreed with the majority party’s approach to addressing federal policy changes.
“I have growing concerns that the Democrats’ answer to every change in a federal policy is just to throw more state dollars at the programs, as opposed to trying to retool them to make it more affordable,” Candelora said.
“It’s definitely a win that [the overall change in enrollees] hasn’t decreased more,” Rich-Bye of Access Health CT said, adding that enrollment held because of outreach efforts by Access Health and the state funds to partly offset the federal subsidies.
But, even with the subsidies, net monthly premium costs went up by an average of 14% for a single person and 21% for a family of four.
And the state subsidies were a one-time investment, not an ongoing program. The budget passed this session directs the governor to develop a plan to provide subsidies again next year but doesn’t allocate the funding necessary for him to do so.
Lesser said he expects qualifying Connecticut residents will receive financial support again in 2027.
“I think the governor is serious about it, but the budget was very clear that we expect him to do that,” Lesser said. “It would be a little strange to develop a plan and not implement.”
A spokesperson for Lamont was not available to comment in time for publication.
This story was originally published by The Connecticut Mirror July 10, 2026.
