Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Oscar Health are among health insurers expanding their market footprint selling individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act despite the lack of commitment from Congress to tax credits that would make policies more affordable.
While the costs of these health plans could increase 100% or more if Congress doesn’t extend tax credits beyond this year, several major health insurers are expanding into new geographic areas and offering more health plan options for next year.
The expansions by health insurers come amid a federal government shutdown that has entered a third week. And extending the tax credits beyond this year are at the center of the standoff between Republicans who control Congress and are largely opposed to the subsidies and Democrats who support them.
Oscar, which is one of the biggest providers of coverage under the ACA also known as Obamacare with about two million health plan members, is holding to its commitment announced last year to double its reach selling such health insurance. The company now offers coverage in 573 counties across 93 metropolitan markets and is expanding into two new states – Alabama and Mississippi – for next year, putting the company’s Obamacare products in 20 U..S. states for the 2026 health benefit year.
And UnitedHealth Group’s health insurance unit, UnitedHealthcare will offer individual plans in 1,306 counties in 2026, which is 21 more than 2025, across the same 30 states as last year. Meanwhile, Cigna, Elevance Health and an array of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans will also expand health insurance options and products into new regions.
“In 2026, Cigna Healthcare will continue to provide individuals and families with access to comprehensive health care through Affordable Care Act plans,” Cigna said in a statement. “We expect medical coverage to be available in 357 counties in the same 11 states as last year, including an additional 20 new counties across Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia.”
And the nation’s second-largest health insurer, Elevance Health, is expanding its footprint for both its Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield branded products and its Wellpoint brand products.
“Elevance Health will offer individual health plans in 18 states and 1,000 counties,” compared to 17 states and 1,005 counties this year, a company spokeswoman said. “This includes Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states and Wellpoint plans in four states. Wellpoint added a new market, Washington state, for 2026.”
It’s unclear whether Centene, the nation’s largest provider of Obamacare under its Ambetter brand, is expanding or scaling back. Reached last week, Centene spokeswoman Sarah Tanner said the company will continue to provide coverage, “operating in 29 states and serving 5.5 million members” and will be in “over 1,700 counties nationwide for the 2026 plan year.” But the company didn’t disclose its footprint for this year.
Consumers who plan to enroll in Obamacare for 2026 will get their first glimpse of health insurer benefit offerings as well as costs of premiums when open enrollment begins November 1. If the enhanced subsidies expire, higher premiums are expected to hit low- and middle Americans the hardest with some seeing a spike in costs of 75% or more, according to a KFF analysis.
The subsidies, or tax credits, make health insurance premiums more affordable for individuals and were enhanced by the Biden administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress, which passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, allowing more Americans to buy coverage. The enhanced subsidies helped enrollment in the ACA’s individual coverage, also known as Obamacare, eclipse a record 24 million Americans and help its popularity hit all-time highs.
It’s unclear whether the companies selling Obamacare will lose customers if premiums spike without subsidies. But these health insurers could still see new enrollment given CVS Health’s Aetna, which provides Obamacare for about 1 million Americans who will have to choose a different plan after the company decided to pull out of the individual health insurance market earlier this year.
Despite the subsidies, Oscar announced Monday that it was expanding into new parts of the country while at the same time adding new health benefit offerings as well as an artificial intelligence feature called “Oswell” the insurer says will “help members and providers create the best care path.”
Oscar is also launching new plans specifically designed for enrollees with chronic conditions and a plan for women in the individual market for perimenopause and menopause known as “HelloMeno.” The plan features “zero-dollar” primary doctor, gynecologist, and behavioral health visits as well as other low cost features.
“We offer real talk, trusted providers, and reliable resources,” Janet Liang, executive vice presidena and president of Oscar Insurance, a unit of Oscar Health. “The plan is built by our team of clinicians who have gone through it – the 3 am wake-ups, brain fog, head-in-freezer moments, and everything in between. We cover more low-cost care where it counts to help women everywhere, in every community, feel in control when life feels out of control.”
