Sticker Shock for Covered California Customers as Pandemic-Era Credits Expire
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With the looming end of pandemic-era credits, families on Covered California health plans are seeing their premiums go up drastically. Some say they’re considering dropping health insurance – a move that local officials say could end up increasing health care costs for everyone.
This month many of the 82,000 Alameda County residents who get health insurance through Covered California are experiencing sticker shock when they see how high their premiums will be in 2026.
“I have a knot in my stomach every single day,” said Rachel Rosekind, 49, an El Cerrito mother whose monthly premium will go from $0 to $2,500 a month for her family of four.
Rosekind, a self-employed freelancer, said she was lucky during the pandemic to qualify for a $0 premium for a Kaiser high-deductible plan through the state’s health insurance exchange. Open enrollment began Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 31, 2026.
However,when she went to re-enroll this year,she discovered that they’re now facing a daunting monthly payment.
“We could not afford $30,000 a year in insurance without going into medical debt,” Rosekind said.
!Self-employed freelancer Rachel Rosekind of El Cerrito is scrambling to figure out how her family can afford to pay $2,500 a month for health insurance. Courtesy of Rachel Rosekind
Self-employed freelancer rachel Rosekind of El Cerrito is scrambling to figure out how her family can afford to pay $2,500 a month for health insurance.Courtesy of Rachel Rosekind
She and her family are rushing to finish all of their preventative care under their existing plan by the end of the year. She got a mammogram last month and booked well visits for her children in December.
Rosekind is the sole income-earner for her family. She and her husband have two daughters, who are 13 and 10.
The rising premiums have “motivated me to get everything that I can done by the end of the year as it is indeed such a big question mark around what we’re going to do,” Rosekind said.
The Covered California health exchange is a marketplace where Californians can shop for health insurance. It was created to offer subsidized Obamacare health insurance plans.
“We are unique among marketplaces,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. Covered California spends “a lot of our time negotiating with our health plans setting higher
As open enrollment for 2026 health insurance approaches, many Bay Area residents are bracing for sticker shock. Insurance brokers are reporting dramatic increases in monthly premiums, with some rising as much as 150% compared to 2025 rates. This surge in cost is forcing individuals and families to make difficult decisions about their healthcare coverage and overall financial well-being.
Guillermo Jimenez, an East Bay insurance broker, has already seen two clients drop their health insurance due to the unaffordability of the new premiums. He anticipates more will follow suit, even if it means facing an annual state penalty for remaining uninsured. “They will go [through] 2026 without coverage,even when they know they have to pay a penalty on the taxes,” Jimenez said. His own family’s premiums are more than doubling.
The rising costs are creating a “fight or flight” scenario for many, according to one resident, Sarah Rosekind. She is struggling to identify areas in her budget to cut in order to afford the increased premiums. Rosekind is even considering sacrificing healthy food options – organic produce being a key part of her family’s preventative health strategy – or even relocating away from the Bay Area, despite the potential impact on her work, which relies heavily on local knowledge and connections.
Dr. Richard Altman, a local physician, recognizes the individual hardship this creates. “It is a tragic, sort of rolling of the dice and hoping that you will not need healthcare, that you will be healthy,” he said.
However, the consequences extend beyond individual struggles. A growing number of uninsured individuals places a greater burden on the entire healthcare system. When people forgo preventative care due to cost, they are more likely to require expensive emergency room visits, ultimately driving up costs for everyone.
Rising Healthcare Costs Force Families to Make Difficult Choices
As temporary enhanced tax credits for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces expire, many Americans are facing significantly higher premiums, forcing them to make difficult financial decisions. The potential loss of coverage for healthier individuals could further destabilize the insurance market and drive up costs for everyone.
The expiration of these credits, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, is impacting families like those of David Rosekind and Maria jimenez. Both are facing considerable increases in their monthly health insurance bills. Jimenez, a father, stated he will forgo Christmas gifts this year to afford coverage, hoping to make it up to his family later. Rosekind expressed the situation puts him and his family in an “impossible position,” echoing the concerns of many across the country.
experts warn that allowing the tax credits to lapse will likely lead to a smaller, sicker risk pool in the ACA marketplaces. According to a statement,”lower health needs will likely drop coverage,leaving higher-risk individuals in the market and contributing to future rate increases.”
This shift could also have broader consequences for healthcare access. Altman highlighted the potential for reduced services and the closure of rural clinics as more people become uninsured. She emphasized that hospitals serve everyone, regardless of insurance status, meaning the impact of increased uninsurance is felt throughout the community.
The situation underscores the ongoing challenges of healthcare affordability and access in the United States.
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