If you have opened your health insurance statement lately and felt your jaw drop, it is not bad luck or a coincidence — and you are definitely not alone:

“My husband and I are small business owners, so we buy our own health insurance. Up until last year, the monthly premium was manageable. Then in October, it tripled. We made the hard call to take my husband off our plan — I’d just had our daughter, so we couldn’t risk dropping me too. Then, our daughter was born with a rare metabolic disorder and spent seven weeks in the NICU. Without Medicaid, we would have lost everything to medical debt and lost wages.” — Mercedes, Colorado

Families have been dealt an unpayable bill! Take action now: Urge Congress to fix our health care system! Restore Medicaid funding and renew the ACA tax credits.

The Escalating Coverage Loss Crisis

Newly released federal data confirms what families and caregivers across the country have been dreading: ACA marketplace enrollment is down 4.2 million people as of February 2026, compared to the same point last year. [1] An estimated 3.8 million more people have lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage over that same stretch. [2] Add it up, and it is about 8 million people — more than the population of all but 13 states and close to the population of New York City — stripped of health care insurance in a matter of months. Insurers expect even more people to drop ACA coverage before the year is out as millions of people have seen their health care premiums double or triple in recent months. [3] [4]

These skyrocketing prices and coverage losses are not an accident — they are a policy choice. They happened because Republican leadership in Congress let the enhanced ACA premium tax credits expire, despite bipartisan support for keeping them. [5] This came right on the heels of Republicans in Congress passing $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the ACA in 2025 — all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. [6] It was a budget-busting one-two punch to our wallets and our health care system.

We knew this exact health care crisis would happen, and now it is playing out in kitchen table budgets and crowded emergency rooms across America: small business owners watching premiums triple, forced to drop coverage for a spouse. Parents narrowly avoiding total financial ruin only because Medicaid stepped in for a newborn's NICU care. Life-saving care should not break the bank — or require a road trip just to get treatment.

Add your name to lower premium costs and ensure that quality health care is within reach for families!

Rippling Effects Across Hospitals and Home Care

When families lose health care coverage, the whole system suffers. Uninsured patients still get sick. Hospitals are already seeing a 20% surge in uninsured emergency room visits. [7] When hospitals absorb these uncompensated costs, they do not just eat the loss — they pass it on or cut services. To cover these costs, hospitals have closed rural clinics, maternity care centers, and nursing homes. Since last summer, over 1,000 facilities nationwide have either shut their doors or have become at risk of closure, forcing patients to travel farther and wait longer for care. [8]

At the same time, Medicaid cuts are also pushing states to gut home- and community-based services (HCBS) — the essential home care aides and support services that allow elderly parents and people with disabilities to live safely in their own homes instead of institutional facilities. When Medicaid loses roughly $1 trillion, HCBS is one of the first places states cut, leaving families stranded with longer waitlists and impossible choices. [9]

Our health care system is straining under the weight of these policy choices — choices that can and must be reversed. Prompt Congress to restore Medicaid funding and renew the expired ACA premium tax credits immediately!

The Petition Demands

When you sign on, you join members across the country in delivering this message to lawmakers:

MomsRising members across the country urge Congress to immediately restore and protect the health care programs that taxpayers prioritize — programs that power our economy and ensure moms, children and families thrive.

In the past year alone, the passage of $1 trillion health care cuts in H.R. 1 and the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits have pushed our health care system to a breaking point. Eight million Americans have lost their health care coverage, uninsured emergency room visits have surged by 20%, over 1,000 care facilities risk closure, and states are cutting essential home- and community-based services.

Specifically, we call on Congress to:

• Reverse the health care cuts (including $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts) enacted through H.R. 1;
• Permanently extend the ACA tax credits;
• Prioritize policies that expand access to affordable health care and nutrition assistance for all families.

Families cannot afford any additional cuts to health care. Congress must act now to strengthen — not weaken — the programs that allow parents to go to work, care for their children, stay healthy, and make ends meet.

The 8 million people who have already lost coverage are just the beginning. Deeper, more devastating cuts — including additional paperwork requirements and funding caps — are scheduled to escalate next year. Families cannot wait and neither should Congress.

The more people who speak out, the bigger our impact. Please take a moment to share our action link with your friends and family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did health insurance premiums increase so sharply recently?

Health insurance premiums rose dramatically primarily because Congress allowed the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits to expire. These subsidies had previously lowered out-of-pocket premium costs for millions of individuals and families purchasing coverage through the ACA marketplace.

How do Medicaid cuts impact local hospitals and emergency rooms?

When Medicaid funding is reduced, more individuals become uninsured. Uninsured patients still require medical care and often seek it in emergency rooms. Hospitals absorb these uncompensated treatment costs, which frequently forces them to cut services, close specialty units like maternity centers, or shut down facilities entirely.

What are Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS)?

Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) are Medicaid-funded programs that provide essential home care aides and support services for elderly parents and individuals with disabilities. These services enable individuals to receive necessary care in their own homes rather than moving into institutional facilities.

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACA Exchange Enrollment report, 2026
2. Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, "State-by-State Medicaid Enrollment Data"
3. Protect Our Care, “UPDATE: Over Eight Million Americans Have Now Lost Coverage In the Year Following Trump-GOP Health Care Cuts”
4. ACA Signups, Final 2026 Open Enrollment Report: Premiums & Financial Assistance (Part 3)
5. The Nation, "Republicans Blocked Healthcare Subsidies — and Now More Americans Are Going Uninsured”
6. Healthcare Dive, "Hospitals Feeling the Pinch as Patients Lose Insurance”
7. The Wall Street Journal, "The Rising Number of Uninsured Patients Starts to Hit Hospitals”
8. Protect Our Care, “Hospital Crisis Watch”
9. Caring Across Generations, “Federal Cuts, State Choices, and the Future of Aging and Disability Care”
10. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Health Coverage Tracker: Millions of People Are Losing Coverage Following 2025 Republican Policy Changes"

This article details how recent Medicaid cuts and expired ACA tax credits caused 8 million Americans to lose health care coverage, and outlines advocacy steps to restore funding.