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SACRAMENTO, CA – Covered California, the state’s health care insurance marketplace, today announced a 9.9% average premium rate increase for 2027, which follows last year’s 10.3% rate increase. The rates vary by carrier, with some carriers projecting rate increases as high as 20%. The impact of the increase is further amplified by the Trump Administration’s announcement to defer more than $837 million in Medicaid payments to California.
“Today’s announcement from Covered California is yet another warning that Californians are paying the price for reckless decisions made in Washington,” Amanda McAllister-Wallner, Health Access California’s Executive Director said. “While more than a million Californians face rising health care premiums – families, small business owners, and self-employed Californians – instead of trying to bring prices down, Congress is focused on funding a war that is increasing prices across the board and the Trump Administration is attacking federal health care protections designed to make coverage more affordable and accessible.”
When premiums rise and enhanced federal financial assistance is eliminated, people’s access to health care suffers. The consequences are not abstract. They are felt in households across California. Families delay needed care, skip prescriptions, postpone treatment, and struggle to pay medical bills. Small businesses find it harder to offer coverage, and more people become uninsured or underinsured. These are policy choices that make health care less affordable and less accessible.
“California has spent more than a decade building a health care system that, in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act, expands coverage, lowers the uninsured rate, and improves access to care,” McAllister-Wallner concluded. “That progress is now being undermined by federal decisions that increase costs while reducing the support families rely on to afford coverage.”
Health Access California will continue working alongside Covered California, state leaders, and our partners to protect affordable health care and ensure every Californian can get the care they need, regardless of income, background, or where they were born.
