Health insurance premiums in Alaska may rise even higher next year

After congressional Republicans voted against extending expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits that had subsidized premiums for health insurance purchased through state marketplaces, the cost of those premiums skyrocketed. Thousands of Alaskans have been unable to afford to keep their health insurance.

Now Alaskans’ health insurance costs are expected to further increase: Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield, the larger of the state’s two ACA marketplace insurers, is asking to raise its rates on the individual marketplace by an average of 26.7% next year, according to the company’s preliminary filings with the federal government.

Premera told the Anchorage Daily News, which first reported the requested increase in August, that the rate increases are needed as a direct result of the end of the tax subsidies, which it said led to an exodus from the exchange of Alaskans who were younger and healthier, prompting the need to raise rates for those who remained, who tended to use more services.

The Alaska Division of Insurance will determine whether Premera can raise its rates by the requested amount, increases that would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

The ACA subsidies were made available during the early days of the COVID pandemic and expired at the end of December 2025. About 25,000 Alaskans received the ACA tax credits in 2025, according to KFF, a group that analyzes and publishes about health policy. A little more than 3,500 Alaskans have dropped their ACA coverage over the past year, KFF found.

Premera’s requested rate increase comes at a time when more than 17,000 Alaskans have lost Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, coverage after congressional Republicans slashed funding for both programs in their One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Republican Rep. Nick Begich voted for the legislation, which President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025.

“Healthcare in our state is in trouble,” Democratic state Rep. Genevieve Mina said during a Sept. 4 press call organized by Protect Our Care Alaska, a group that advocates for affordable healthcare.

“When I talk to Alaskans, when I hear from neighbors, I often hear over and over again, ‘We can’t afford this,’” said Mina, who represents a portion of Anchorage. “People are going without care, and people are worried about whether they can pay their premiums, what their copay is going to be with the doctor, or even if they can afford their prescriptions.”

Shannon Davenport, the president of the Alaska Nurses Association, who works as a mental healthcare and hospice nurse in Anchorage, said people are increasingly turning to hospital emergency rooms because they can’t afford preventive care. 

“I have patients that come to me and ask me, ‘What do I do? I can’t afford my medications,’” Davenport said. “‘I can’t afford to go to my therapy sessions. I can’t afford to get care because it’s too expensive.’”