As a cancer survivor, Alex Modisette faces a daunting reality as health insurance costs loom larger for her family. Modisette, who runs a small construction business with her husband in Castle Rock, is grappling with a projected increase in their monthly insurance premium from approximately $175 to $430—a shocking rise of more than 140%. With enhanced federal subsidies set to expire in January, Modisette fears that she may have no option but to forgo health insurance altogether.
Despite being in remission from thyroid cancer for a decade, Modisette continues to need regular blood tests and hormone replacement medication. While their two children qualify for the Child Health Plan Plus, which supports kids from families slightly above the Medicaid threshold, Modisette and her husband are left without public coverage alternatives. This has led them and several small business owners within their community to consider going without insurance entirely. “It’s real people that are working really hard to build something of your own,” Modisette shared. “If something bad happens, are we going to go bankrupt?”
In Colorado, hundreds of thousands of residents are bracing for a steep hike in monthly health insurance premiums, with estimates indicating that about 321,000 people utilized pandemic-era enhanced subsidies last year. The impending loss of these subsidies will require individual marketplace customers nationwide to pay considerably more for their premiums in 2026. Choices for these individuals are slim: either search for an alternative coverage source, select a less expensive plan—with the potential of encountering greater out-of-pocket costs—or consider going without insurance altogether, which would subject them to fully paying for any medical care they might need.
Congress has adjourned without voting to extend these subsidies, although discussions are anticipated to resume in January when the House of Representatives is expected to take up the issue again. A small faction of Republicans crossed party lines to back a Democratic petition that may compel leadership to consider a bill extending the subsidies for three years without significant changes. Nonetheless, such a proposal may struggle to find support in the Senate, which previously declined a three-year extension and failed to pass a Republican-sponsored alternative.
The fallout has not gone unnoticed. Roger Allbrandt from Centennial stated his monthly premiums would leap from around $35 to $862, once the subsidies fall. Two-thirds of this increase stems from subsidy reductions, while the rest is influenced by rising plan costs. Although his wife recently secured a teaching position with health coverage, the prospect of adding him to her plan would escalate their monthly expenses beyond $1,000. As a result, Allbrandt plans to seek care primarily through the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center instead, as he finds the costs of continuing with their current plan untenable.
Similarly, Kate Tynan-Ridgeway, a retired educator, expressed her distress at having to transition to less favorable coverage due to soaring premiums. While her previous insurance plan’s premium was $600, her marketplace options now demand around $1,200 monthly. Consequently, she has opted for a policy offered through the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association, coming in at about $800 but with a $4,000 deductible—double what she previously faced.
Even those who are relatively young and able, like Myshel Guillory in Eagle, are re-evaluating their healthcare options. She envisioned a gradual increase in healthcare costs upon retirement, but the abrupt doubling of her insurance premiums has forced her to rethink her strategy entirely. The lowest-cost option available to her would require $1,000 each month alongside a $12,000 deductible, which would consume a significant portion of her budget should medical issues arise.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of these subsidies, health insurance experts like Leah Denzel advocate for individuals to choose Affordable Care Act plans they can afford without relying on enhanced subsidies. She urges clients to avoid short-term or health-sharing options that may not cover pre-existing conditions.
As the deadline for coverage selection approaches, many Coloradans are left weighing difficult choices about their coverage in the face of rising costs and diminishing support.
