Like many other Americans, my family members and I have a lot of anxiety about our access to healthcare in the near future. 

With rising insurance premiums, changes surrounding the Affordable Care Act – including the possible expiration of subsidies that help many people afford coverage – and Medicaid cuts and changes, it’s a perfect storm that will leave millions of people like me without health insurance. 

There is much uncertainty about what healthcare – and health insurance coverage – will look like in 2026 and beyond. I’ve been in a panic as I desperately try to get my family whatever medical treatment we can access – while we still can. 

Two of our young adult children get healthcare coverage through Medicaid, and another currently has coverage through an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan. Right now, their health insurance options for next year are very murky, especially with the future of ACA subsidies still up in the air. Our state has already announced that – barring last-minute actions by federal lawmakers – premiums for ACA insurance plans will skyrocket in 2026. 

I’m fortunate to have health coverage through an employer, but we’ve already been informed that our premiums and out-of-pocket costs will likely go up significantly next year. As someone with several serious health conditions, I’m terrified that the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers may soon target core provisions of the ACA, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions. 

A quick reminder of what healthcare was like in the pre-ACA days: back then, insurers and employers could – and often did – charge higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions or could even refuse to insure you at all. Many people in my family – including one sibling who needs a double lung transplant and another who has advanced MS – went years without any medical treatment at all because they couldn’t get insurance.

Although viewing access to healthcare as something that should be a basic human right would seem like a noncontroversial stance, the issue became politicized, with Republicans fighting the ACA plan, which they dubbed “Obamacare.” They’ve been trying to chip away at it ever since, including an unsuccessful attempt to repeal the law in 2017 during Trump’s first term. 

Living in a rural area, I’m also nervous about my future access to local emergency medical treatment, given that so many hospitals in areas like mine are struggling to stay open – a battle many of them will ultimately lose if the government doesn’t fund affordable healthcare. 

Because of all this, my family has been scrambling to get as many of our doctor’s appointments, medical tests, and health-related procedures as possible done before the end of the year. I suspect many others have the same idea, though, because it turns out that most of my doctors have calendars that are booked solid, with no openings until spring or later. I’ve been added to their waiting lists and am keeping my fingers crossed that I may get a last-minute appointment if a slot opens up due to a cancellation. 

Stocking up on medications – while we have prescription coverage to help with the costs – is also a smart idea, but that’s not always easy, and in some cases is impossible. Pharmacies often refuse to refill prescriptions too early, and insurers also sometimes block you from getting a refill until your current supply is almost gone. 

All of this effort to get basic healthcare access in one of the richest countries in the world.

I’ve been calling my lawmakers every day, letting them know how important affordable and accessible healthcare is to my family, and so many others. However, given that my representatives voted in favor of the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that’s responsible for much of the healthcare-related upheaval and gutting of safety net programs happening now, I’m not optimistic that they will do much to help solve the healthcare crisis. 

I know I’m far from alone in my worry. Millions of other Americans could lose their healthcare coverage next year. I can only hope that our leaders in Congress will come up with a last-minute solution to keep so many of their constituents from losing access to basic healthcare that we all need and deserve. 

Of course, even if congress acts to protect insurance coverage for millions of Americans, it will  just be a temporary fix that doesn’t solve a much bigger problem. Instead of chipping away at (and trying to destroy) the ACA – as Republican lawmakers seem determined to do – we should actually be pushing for legislation that expands healthcare access. 

We need to either strengthen and expand the ACA or replace it with something better, like universal healthcare. Although expanded access to healthcare is something the current administration and GOP leadership strongly oppose, it’s vital that we continue to assert our right to insurance coverage and to plan for a healthier, more equitable future beyond our current reality.