A new series of fact sheets published by Protect Our Care is drawing attention to the more than 160,000 fewer people in Ohio who purchased health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace this year after Congress failed to extend tax credits that had made premiums more affordable.
There were 161,385 fewer people in Ohio enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace in February 2026 compared to 2025, according to data analyzed by KFF. That represents a 32% decline, which Protect Our Care, a social welfare nonprofit, noted in a series of state fact sheets released Aug. 18.
Congress and former President Joe Biden included the premium subsidies in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act for two years. In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act extended those subsidies through the end of 2025. The Republican-led Congress failed to extend the subsidies before they expired. In January, 17 House Republicans joined House Democrats to pass a bill to extend them, but the Senate has not acted on it.
In a November social media post, President Donald Trump said he would only support a program that let individuals negotiate their own insurance plans, adding, “Congress, do not waste your time and energy on anything else.” He told reporters that he’d rather give money to people directly rather than to insurance companies, without explaining how that would work, NBC News reported.
National enrollment in the Affordable Care Act roughly doubled from 2021 to 2025, according to KFF. But in 2026, enrollment dropped in every state except New Mexico, which replaced the expired tax credits with state subsidies.
Survey results that KFF published in March show 40% of returning marketplace enrollees said their monthly health insurance premiums are a lot higher this year compared to last. Another 23% said their premiums were somewhat higher.
Protect Our Care published the state fact sheets as part of Sick of It! Fix Health Care Now campaign to fix healthcare, which the nonprofit said is its largest grassroots campaign to date, featuring town halls and a coast-to-coast bus tour this fall.
Beyond information on Affordable Care Act enrollment, the fact sheets include the number of healthcare providers in each state that are at risk of or have announced cuts or closure, and those that have closed following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in July 2025 that the budget law would cut Medicaid spending by about $1 trillion over a decade.
A Protect Our Care Ohio fact sheet in mid-August listed 38 healthcare providers at risk of cuts or closures or already closed in the state. That number had risen to 39 as of early September.
“Every day that health care becomes more expensive, a family is forced to make an impossible choice between putting food on the table and staying covered, a senior is forced to ration their medication, and an expectant mother has to travel farther to access maternity care,” Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. “From Alaska to Florida, these people are our neighbors, our parents, our kids, and they’re sick of paying the price for Republicans’ greed.”
