Millions Lose Health Coverage Amidst Trump Administration Policy Shifts

Gaba’s findings, based on data from June 2026, reveal that Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program have shed 6.2 million enrollees. Simultaneously, enrollment in Affordable Care Act exchanges dropped by up to 6.1 million, with Basic Health Plans seeing a decrease of 275,000. While Medicare enrollment rose by 1.8 million, Gaba concluded this growth fails to offset the broader loss of coverage. He dismissed the notion that these individuals moved to employer-sponsored plans, noting that current unemployment rates make such a transition unlikely.

The administration’s policy trajectory remains a primary driver of these figures. The 2025 enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashed Medicaid spending by an estimated $900 billion over a decade. Congressional Budget Office projections suggest these cuts will remove 10 million people from the program by 2034. Compounding the issue, lawmakers declined to extend enhanced subsidies for ACA plans, even as premiums spiked by an average of 26% this year.

Financial strain is expected to intensify in 2027. Stanford researchers Neale Mahoney and Abigail Sanchez project that private health insurance costs will climb by 8 to 10% next year—the largest increase in two decades. This surge is attributed to the expiration of federal subsidies, rising out-of-pocket expenses, and the implementation of new Medicaid work requirements.