DIFS Encourages Michiganders to Plan for Health Insurance Coverage Now for 2026
(LANSING, MICH) The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is encouraging Michiganders to be ready for the upcoming Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment period, which starts Nov. 1. A record 530,000 Michiganders are currently enrolled in health insurance through the Marketplace. Recent federal changes, as well as expiring tax credits, mean it has never been more important to review your insurance coverage and make a selection during the upcoming Open Enrollment period.
Every year, even when the ACA is running smoothly, there are always changes in market participation, as different insurance carriers enter or exit the individual market in certain states or either expand or shrink what parts of the state they offer healthcare policies in.
2026 is no exception, and given the massive turmoil the ACA exchanges are undergoing right now (due primarily to the expiring federal tax credits as well as regulatory changes made by the Trump Regime's so-called "Integrity & Affordability Rule"), there's either 13 or 32 insurance carriers throwing in the towel in one or more states, depending on how you count a carrier operating in multiple states or under multiple subsidiary brandings.
It's important to keep in mind that the following list probably isn't comprehensive--it includes the carriers which I've confirmed are pulling out statewide (with one exception: Meridian Health Plan of Michigan is only pulling out of parts of the state). There's likely one or two that I've missed, especially given that several of these have only made their final decisions within the past week or so.
Just a few days ago I reported that the final, approved 2026 individual market rate filings in Michigan have been published to the SERFF database, for an overall weighted average rate increase of 20.1% marketwide:
This hasn't been officially published by the Michigan Dept. of Insurance & Financial Services yet, and technically speaking the filings aren't 100% approved yet, but 10 out of 11 filings have been moved to "complete pending form review" which I think just means that a supervisor has to give the paperwork a final once-over to make sure there are no typos etc.
*Also, Meridian Health Plan (which holds an impressive 30% of the total ACA indy market in MI when you include the carriers dropping out) is listed as "draft decision forwarded to Manager" so if any of them end up being off I'd guess it would be that one.
BCN is filing a year-over-year average rate increase for 2026 for all individual products that were offered in 2025 of 16.3%. Significant contributors to rate change are outlined in the table below:
Experience Restate 4.0%
Medical and pharmaceutical price and utilization trend 5.4%
ARPA Subsidy Expiration Impact 4.6%
Benefit Change and CSR -2.6%
Margin Impact 1.2%
...Incorporated in the above, BCN assumed an additional pharmacy price trend due to tariffs, as follows:
Generic +2.5%
Brand +10%
Specialty 0%
Total Impact +2.5%
...Consistent with the 2025 filing, BCN has assumed no CSR payments will be made by the federal government for 2026. Therefore, rates for Silver plans offered on exchange are 20.5% higher than if the federal government funded CSR subsidies.
Michigan has around 531,000 residents enrolled in ACA exchange plans, 91% of whom are currently subsidized. I estimate they also have another ~64,000 unsubsidized off-exchange enrollees.
Company’s HR Manager Really Pushing Infinite-Deductible Health Care Plan
During a meeting with new hires Wednesday to discuss employee benefits, Radian Analytics human resources manager Ellen Schultz is said to have strongly pushed the company’s infinite-deductible health care option.
According to sources in attendance, Schultz described the low-premium, infinite-deductible plan as the simplest and most convenient choice available to employees, and said it works the same whether plan members need to visit their primary care physician, fill a prescription, or be admitted to a hospital, allowing them in each case to pay 100 percent of the incurred medical expenses.
(I know numerous other states with Democratic governors have issued similar executive orders already, but I'm a lifelong Michigander as are most of my family so this one comes as particular relief to me)...
via email (no link yet):
Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Directive, Ensuring Michiganders Can Access Vaccines to Stay Healthy Ahead of Cold, COVID-19, and Flu Season
LANSING, Mich.—Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive, ensuring vaccines remain available to Michiganders as we approach the fall. Specifically, she has instructed state agencies to identify and remove any barriers to accessing COVID-19 vaccines, so Michiganders can stay healthy ahead of cold and flu season. Governor Whitmer remains committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of every Michigander and their families.
With the pending dire threat to several of these programs (primarily Medicaid & the ACA) from the House Republican Budget Proposal which recently passed, I'm going a step further and am generating pie charts which visualize just how much of every Congressional District's total population is at risk of losing healthcare coverage.
USE THE DROP-DOWN MENU ABOVE TO FIND YOUR STATE & DISTRICT.
Gov. Whitmer Releases Top Lines of Alarming Report on Federal Medicaid Cuts, Finding Cuts Would Terminate Health Care for 700,000 Michiganders
MDHHS report also shows federal cuts to Medicaid will increase costs for hospitals and small businesses, and significantly strain state budget
LANSING, Mich. -- Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer released toplines of an alarming report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) on the impact of federal proposals to cut Medicaid. According to the new report, these proposed cuts would result in a loss of health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, reduce access to providers for all residents, increase financial burdens on hospitals and small businesses, and significantly strain the state’s budget.
RE-UPPED 1/31/22: It was announced this morning that John James, who lost not one but two statewide U.S. Senate races back to back in 2018 & 2020, is taking a third swing at elected office in 2022. This time he's setting his sights lower, going for Michigan's new open 10th Congressional district, which is still competitive but which definitely has more of a GOP-tilt to it. In light of that, I decided to dust off this post again.
RE-UPPED 4/9/25: It was announced yesterday that John James, who finally made it into elected office as a U.S. Representative in Michigan's 10th Congressional District (only to essentially abandon his district the moment he got re-elected in 2024) is now running for statewide office again, this time for Governor. In light of that, I decided to dust off this post again (again).
A month ago, incumbent Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan and his Republican challenger John James were both interviewed as part of a Detroit Regional Chamber series on several issues, including healthcare policy and the ACA.
