As open enrollment begins in Idaho today, nearly 100,000 Idahoans are set to see their premiums more than double due to Donald Trump and Republicans’ refusal to extend ACA premium tax credits. Democrats, in stark contrast, are fighting to save these credits, a position that the vast majority of voters support.

Donald Trump and Idaho Republicans have already created a health care crisis in Idaho. Trump’s Big Ugly Bill causes 50,000 Idahoans to lose health care and has put 3 Idaho rural hospitals on the brink of closure. 

Republicans have had weeks to prevent Idaho families from losing their lifesaving health care coverage or seeing their premiums increase by hundreds or thousands of dollars — but they still refuse to negotiate with Democrats.

 DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“As Idaho families receive notices showing their monthly health premiums are about to double and open enrollment opens today, Donald Trump and Republicans refuse to do anything to stop this imminent crisis they caused. In fact, House Republicans are playing hooky from their jobs — they aren’t even at work in Washington to find a solution. If Republicans continue to ignore reality, the average family of four in Boise will see their premiums increase by $168 per month, and for many, it could be far higher. Ask yourself: why is Trump sending a $40 billion bailout to Argentina, a foreign country, instead of doing anything at all to fix health care costs? While Trump and Idaho Republicans continue to raise prices on working families, Democrats are fighting to lower costs and save health care for every Idahoan.”

Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement:

“As the first state to open enrollment, Idaho is exposing the real cost of Republican attacks on health care. Families across the state are opening letters that tell them their premiums are doubling, and many are realizing they will have to give up coverage altogether. This is no accident. The Trump regime and Idaho Republicans refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that have kept coverage within reach for over 100,000 Idahoans. Their carelessness means retirees, small business owners, and working parents will be forced to choose between health care and basic necessities. Democrats are fighting to lower costs, protect rural hospitals, and make sure every Idahoan can afford to see a doctor. Republicans are fighting for billionaires and corporate tax breaks. Idaho families cannot afford this manufactured crisis, and Democrats will not stop fighting until every Idahoan can access affordable health care.”

Read more below:

NBC News: Idaho kicks off Affordable Care Act open enrollment as premiums are set to rise nationwide

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr., 10/15/2025]

• On Wednesday, open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans began in Idaho, offering a preview to the rest of the country of how much monthly premiums are set to increase in 2026.

• Many Idahoans will have to decide whether they’ll be able to afford coverage once the enhanced subsidies that kept premiums lower for many middle-class families expire at the end of the year.

• Bob McMichael, 63, and his wife, Leslie, 62, already know they won’t.

• Both are retired and make about $42,000 a year. They currently pay $51 a month for their ACA plan. Late last month, they got a notice that their monthly premium would increase to $2,232 next year without the subsidies.

• “We’re facing a stratospheric increase in health care and probably don’t have any option to stay on health care as of January 2026,” McMichael said.

• Gideon Lukens, a senior fellow and director of research and data analysis on the health policy team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group, said that a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 a year in Idaho could see about a $1,500 increase in their monthly out-of-pocket premiums.

• A family of four earning $130,000 a year could see about a $650 increase in their monthly premiums. “And that’s not an outlier,” he said. “For some people, it’s going to be a lot worse.”

• People on ACA plans who don’t qualify for tax credits won’t be spared either, Lukens said: Premiums are expected to rise about 18% on average for them as insurers raise rates for next year.

• Mark and Sarah Lathrop, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, don’t qualify for enhanced subsidies. The couple, who own Liberty Lake Wine Cellars just across the border in Washington, currently pay $1,116 a month for their ACA plan.

• Their 2026 renewal notice shows that premium climbing to $1,351 a month, a 21% increase, while their plan out-of-pocket maximum will jump from $12,000 to $18,400.

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