Health Insurance Premiums Expected To Spike For Thousands Of Inland Empire Residents

CALIFORNIA — When President Donald Trump signed his Republican-heralded One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, he did so against a backdrop of patriotic images.

Trump and the GOP promise the legislation will be great for Americans.

Not everyone is celebrating.

Lost in the fiery debate over the bill's Medicaid funding for the poor is what happens to the millions of working Americans who make too much money to qualify for the federal health insurance program.

Not everyone has employer-sponsored health insurance. Small business owners and their families, gig workers, part-time employees, and full-time workers must purchase plans on the open market if their employers don't offer health insurance. (Companies with fewer than 50 full-time employees are not required to offer health care benefits.)

Currently, many of these residents rely on Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. The program allows qualifying residents to purchase private health insurance coverage at federally subsidized rates. The program (referred to as ObamaCare) serves residents whose incomes are too high for Medi-Cal (as Medicaid is known in California).

Roughly 2 million Californians rely on Covered California for health insurance. In the Inland Empire, approximately 22,273 people were enrolled in the program during the first quarter of 2025, according to state figures.

In 2026, however, some Covered California enrollees could see their monthly premiums skyrocket.

Why?

In 2021, Congress expanded financial assistance for the Affordable Care Act. That dramatically reduced monthly health insurance premiums for Covered California enrollees by offering tax credits that can be used to offset the high costs of coverage.

However, those enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill did not address enhanced ACA tax credits, and it appears that Trump and the GOP do not intend to extend them.

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.

Here's an example of how that impending expiration affects a Riverside County couple in their early 60s who own a small business and have an annual household income of $176,000.

In 2025, the couple can find health insurance plans on Covered California with premiums starting at approximately $987 per month (covers both of them). However, depending on the plan type they seek (carrier, PPO vs. HMO, low out-of-pocket costs for services, etc.), their monthly premium could be as high $4,177.

Without the enhanced tax credits, the same couple would find health insurance premiums on the Covered California marketplace to be more expensive. Based on 2025 numbers, the costs would start at $1,631 per month for a plan with a high deductible. If they want a plan with low out-of-pocket costs, they can expect to pay as much as $4,822 per month. These figures do not include the anticipated health insurance hikes expected for 2026.

For individuals with significantly lower incomes than the example above, the expected increase in health insurance costs through Covered California will be substantially greater. For example, a couple who currently earn $85,000 between them and who don't have children or employer-sponsored health coverage are unlikely to receive any break on health insurance starting next year.

For now, they can pay as little as $342 per month for the least expensive insurance plan offered via Covered California, which features a hefty $13,000 annual deductible. Next year, that same plan could cost approximately $1,631 per month — more than a 400% increase. That's the low end. If they want a plan that offers a lower annual deductible, they can expect to spend around $2,000 per month for the most affordable plans.

In theory, the Republican-led Congress could remedy the impending tax credit expiration before the end of the year. Given that Trump spent most of his first term in office trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, however, the odds of that appear slim.

Stay tuned.