How to navigate the Health Insurance Marketplace as costs rise and options shrink

For those who are feeling anxious or overwhelmed about the open enrollment process in the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Marketplace, trends in rising premiums and declining availability across Wisconsin can help purchasers better understand their plan options.

People who rely on the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace to choose health insurance for 2026 must contend with a host of challenges over the open enrollment period. Those include hikes in premiums and other fees, the potential ending of tax credits that made payments more affordable, and fewer options in some areas.

That’s as a growing number of residents have used the marketplace. More than 300,000 Wisconsinites, or about 5% of the state’s population, signed up for plans for 2025 at HealthCare.gov — more than double the enrollment from about a decade ago…