Earlier this month, Covered California announced an early preview of health plans and rates for the 2026 coverage year. The bottom line: Enrollees can expect steep increases next year — largely due to the Dec. 31 expiration of federal enhanced premium tax credits — but the Inland Empire is forecast to be hit especially hard.
“From the loss of the enhanced premium tax credits alone, 1.7 million enrollees in California could see an additional average net premium increase of 66 percent,” according to a statement from Covered California.
Here’s how that is expected to play out in the Inland Empire:
According to Covered California, 186,850 Inland Empire residents were enrolled in the health insurance exchange as of March 2025. If they continue enrollment in 2026, they will see a two-fold increase starting January 1.
First, all 11 health insurers offering individual plans on Covered California in 2026 are expected to raise their prices. Based on state projections, enrollees in the Inland Empire are expected to see an average projected rate increase of 12.5% starting in January, resulting from insurance companies’ hikes. Many enrollees will experience higher increases, resulting in thousands of dollars more spent annually on healthcare.
Only two other California regions are expected to see steeper increases: one that includes the counties of Fresno, Kings and Madera; the other includes Mono, Inyo and Imperial counties. Covered California enrollees in both regions are expected to see an average 12.9% increase.
The second cost hike is not coming from insurance companies, but rather the federal government. Covered California is the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. It allows qualifying residents to purchase private health insurance coverage at federally subsidized rates. The program (often referred to as ObamaCare) serves residents whose incomes are too high for Medi-Cal (as Medicaid is known in California).
The program is in place because it’s long been recognized that not everyone has employer-sponsored health insurance. Small business owners and their families, gig workers, part-time employees, and full-time workers whose employers don’t offer health insurance must purchase plans on the open market. (Companies with fewer than 50 full-time employees are not required to offer health care benefits for their workers.)
It’s an expensive proposition for patients, but in 2021, Congress expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which dramatically reduced monthly health insurance premiums for Covered California enrollees. However, the extra help — known as federal enhanced premium tax credits — will sunset on December 31, 2025.
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” did not address enhanced ACA tax credits, and it appears that the Republican majority does not intend to extend them past their expiration date.
Just under 2 million Californians rely on Covered California for health insurance. Nationally, it’s estimated that 5.1 million people currently insured through the Affordable Care Act could lose their health coverage next year, primarily because they will be unable to afford it.
While the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits is not the only driving factor in the insurance price hike — higher healthcare and pharmacy expenditures, as well as broader industry challenges are also impacting the cost — federal healthcare policies will make 2026 premiums out of reach for many.
In 2026, the 11 health insurance companies offering plans through Covered California include Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Balance by CCHP, Health Net, Inland Empire Health Plan, Kaiser Permanente, LA Care Health Plan, Molina Healthcare, Sharp Health Plan, Valley Health Plan, and Western Health Advantage. (Not all plans are available in all areas of the state.)
Insurers with prices expected to rise the most are Valley Health Plan, at 21.0%, and Inland Empire Health Plan, at 17.9%. Health Net, Molina Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross and Western Health Advantage are also expected to rise significantly: 15%, 14.7%, 14.5% and 13.9%, respectively.
The actual costs for the plans will be available in October via the Covered California website.
“Skyrocketing health insurance premiums are the last thing Americans need right now,” said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman. “There is still time for Congress to act and protect the health care of millions of Americans who rely on marketplace coverage, and we’re hopeful that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize the need to extend this essential lifeline for working families.”
Beyond the soon-to-expire enhanced tax credits, California has another bone to pick with Washington, D.C. In July, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he was co-leading a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to create barriers to obtaining healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.
President Donald Trump has sought to overturn the ACA since being elected in 2016 to his first term.
According to Bonta’s office, “The Trump Administration’s final rule would make numerous amendments to rules governing federal and state health insurance marketplaces, which the administration estimates will cause up to 1.8 million people to lose their health insurance, while causing millions more to pay increased insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles.”
The lawsuit does not involve the enhanced tax credits.
According to Bonta’s press office, “Those are expiring per Congressional legislation and would need to be extended by Congress.”