Marketplace and plan costs
Subsidies, the cliff, cost sharing, price transparency, and how premium, deductible and out-of-pocket maximum stack into one bill.
Health Insurance
5 guides filed under this heading
- Premium, Deductible, Copay, Out-of-Pocket Max: How US Health Insurance Costs Stack
A low premium is not the same as a cheap plan. How the four cost-sharing numbers interact, and how to compare two plans without doing the arithmetic twice.
4 min read updated October 6, 2026 - The $500 Obamacare Refund: Who Gets a Check, Who Doesn't, and the Scams That Follow
Checks are going out: $500 to about 950,000 marketplace enrollees in 30 states, automatically, with no application. Who qualifies — and how to spot the fraud.
5 min read updated October 6, 2026 - The ACA Marketplace: Open Enrollment, Subsidies and Special Enrollment Periods
Open enrollment runs November 1 to January 15. How marketplace subsidies work since the enhanced credits have expired — including the return of the 400% cliff.
8 min read updated October 10, 2026 - The new price transparency rules: how to get a real price before scheduled care
Price files rebuilt, phone estimates from 2027 plan years, and an FTC warning that incomplete prices can be deceptive. What to ask for, and when.
7 min read updated October 6, 2026 - CMS Canceled 315,000 Marketplace Policies: What to Check Before Open Enrollment
CMS canceled about 315,000 unauthorized Marketplace policies covering 760,000+ people. How to check your HealthCare.gov account and fix the tax fallout.
7 min read updated October 9, 2026
ACA Marketplace
5 guides filed under this heading
- The ACA Subsidy Cliff Is Back: What to Check Before You Pick a 2027 Plan
Enhanced ACA credits expired after 2025. The 2027 income lines and contribution rates are now published — what changed, and four checks before November 1.
11 min read updated October 31, 2026 - The 2027 Marketplace runs on a court-modified rule: what was stayed, and what still applies
A federal court blocked eight provisions of the 2027 ACA payment rule, including the income-based route to Catastrophic plans. What to know before November 1.
5 min read - A 'duplicate coverage' notice from the Marketplace: what it is, and the 30 days you get
CMS ended subsidies for 189,000 enrollees flagged as double-enrolled or deceased. Where the 30-day dispute window comes from, and what does not change.
12 min read updated October 15, 2026 - Premium tax credit eligibility tightens under proposed IRS rules
The proposed IRS rules behind the OBBBA subsidy cuts: a narrower eligible-alien rule from 2027, Exchange verification from 2028, comments due November 30.
8 min read updated October 27, 2026 - The Marketplace would verify before it pays: what the 2028 subsidy rule changes
CMS proposes checking income, status and residence before any 2028 subsidy is paid, and re-checking it every year. What changes, and the dates to note.
9 min read updated October 27, 2026
Reference pages
Tables and lookups on the same filing, answered without reading around it
- Deductible, coinsurance, out-of-pocket max: what one bill actually costs
How a US health plan splits one bill — deductible first, then coinsurance, then the out-of-pocket maximum — with a calculator and the 2027 federal ceiling.
Other topics on Shield
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