California medical insurance rates skyrocket — affecting millions of people

Californians already struggling to afford day-to-day necessities will be hit even harder next year when a hefty increase in health insurance rates goes into effect.

Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, announced this month that its private health plans will see prices rise on average 9.9% in 2027 for the second straight year. This year, prices increased by 10.1%.

Combined, it’s the steepest increase seen in the state marketplace in nearly a decade, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

According to Covered California, some regions of the state may see increases as large as 15% — particularly Mono, Inyo and Imperial counties.

Most health plans will see double digit percentage increases, with San Jose-based Valley Health Plan expecting a 20% jump.

Covered California pointed to increased health care costs as one reason. But the state pinned some of the blame on President Donald Trump’s administration.

“The federal government and this administration have made it more difficult for hard-working Americans to access high-quality health insurance at a price they can actually afford,” said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman. “The fallout from these federal actions continues to reduce affordability and put health insurance out of reach for too many.”

Specifically, Altman was referring to the loss of federal subsidies to help families pay premiums.

Even then, 8% of the increase can be traced to rising healthcare spending and only 2% to federal policy changes, according to Covered California officials.

State officials touted efforts to help ease the pain, such as expanding the state’s subsidy program from $190 million to $300 million. They claimed 60% of enrollees will ultimately see no increase in their monthly premiums.

Enrollment fell by about 170,000 people, or nearly 9%, from 1.94 million in April 2025 to 1.77 million in April 2026, Altman said.

Any price increases next year could be worsened by a new healthcare tax that state lawmakers enacted in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent budget.

That tax may result in individuals with private health insurance plans seeing their rates go up an average of about $100 a year, or $400 a year for a family of four.

Congressman Kevin Kiley and five Republican representatives from California this week made a formal request to the Trump administration to put a halt to that tax.

“I hope that California taxpayers can be spared yet another increase in our cost of living that so many Californians simply cannot afford because of the extreme policies coming out of Sacramento,” Kiley said.

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