Health insurance rates will increase sharply for the 4 million-plus Floridians who rely on so-called Obamacare plans or small employer health insurance coverage in the coming weeks, according to data released by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The OIR reported late last month that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, Florida health plans had been approved for double-digit increases in monthly premiums people pay for the individual policies sold on the federal health insurance exchange (healthcare.gov). The health exchanges represent a key component of the law, which changed how health insurance can be priced. The numbers are based on the silver-level health insurance policy, the only plan that qualifies enrollees for additional credits to lower out-of-pocket costs. Medicaid expansion neededAccording to the most recent OIR data, most people in Florida who purchased health insurance policies in 2023 bought individual coverage on the federal health insurance exchange.The 2023 data show that more than 5.8 million people maintained commercial health insurance policies, and most of those people, 3.6 million-plus, had individual health insurance.