At 40%, Florida has the smallest proportion of its workforce receiving health insurance through their employer in the nation.

The state also has one of the highest rates of individuals under age 65 who are uninsured and the highest number and proportion of users of health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA or Obamacare.

In December 2025, Congress let ACA subsidy increases that were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic lapse. At that time, policy analysts and scholars predicted dire consequences for Florida.

The decision not to extend these increased government subsidies of health insurance premiums came after heated partisan debate in Congress and the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

As a gerontologist interested in healthcare policy, I’ve been looking at the ACA enrollment data during the period since the subsidy changes went into effect to see how Florida residents were affected and how the state compares to the nation overall.

In July 2026, the health policy research group KFF reported the most recent available ACA enrollment data on people who both enrolled and paid their first insurance premium – a process known as effectuated enrollment. This data looks at the period from January 2026 through the end of February 2026.

Who buys their health insurance through the ACA

While the majority of American workers between the ages of 19 and 64 receive health insurance through their employers, many people, especially those who are self-employed or working for smaller businesses, do not.

Florida had and continues to have the most individuals insured through the ACA in the........

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