Idaho
Idaho kicks off Affordable Care Act open enrollment as premiums are set to rise nationwide
On Wednesday, open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans began in Idaho, offering a preview to the rest of the country of how much monthly premiums are set to increase in 2026.
Many Idahoans will have to decide whether they’ll be able to afford coverage once the enhanced subsidies that kept premiums lower for many middle-class families expire at the end of the year.
Bob McMichael, 63, and his wife, Leslie, 62, already know they won’t.
Both are retired and make about $42,000 a year. They currently pay $51 a month for their ACA plan. Late last month, they got a notice that their monthly premium would increase to $2,232 next year without the subsidies.
“We’re facing a stratospheric increase in health care and probably don’t have any option to stay on health care as of January 2026,” McMichael said.
After getting the notice, the McMichaels wrote to Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, urging him to support extending the subsidies.
That decision is at the heart of the government shutdown fight on Capitol Hill, with Democrats saying Republicans must agree to keep in place the enhanced subsidies, first introduced in 2021, before they’ll vote to reopen the government. Without the tax credits, average out-of-pocket premiums are expected to rise by $1,200 a year in Idaho, a 75% increase, according to state health officials.
“A pretty big number of people are going to see their premiums double, if not more,” said Hillarie Matlock, policy director of Idaho Voices for Children, a nonprofit group that advocates for health insurance access.
More than 100,000 people in Idaho got enhanced subsidies this year — about 87% of all state ACA enrollees, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
About 25,000 Idahoans are likely to drop their coverage for next year if the subsidies expire on Dec. 31, said Pat Kelly, executive director of Your Health Idaho, the state’s ACA marketplace.
The state has spent the last year preparing for the loss of subsidies and expected premium hike, Kelly said.
“We’ve spent a lot of this year training agents on what the changes will be and how we will communicate those changes to their consumers,” he said.
Gideon Lukens, a senior fellow and director of research and data analysis on the health policy team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group, said that a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 a year in Idaho could see about a $1,500 increase in their monthly out-of-pocket premiums.
A family of four earning $130,000 a year could see about a $650 increase in their monthly premiums. “And that’s not an outlier,” he said. “For some people, it’s going to be a lot worse.”
“We’ve heard from a couple of folks that they’re trying to get as much taken care of before the end of the calendar year just because they’re concerned about the inability to address things in a preventative way or even do their appointments next year because of the cost,” Matlock, of Idaho Voices for Children, said.
People on ACA plans who don’t qualify for tax credits won’t be spared either, Lukens said: Premiums are expected to rise about 18% on average for them as insurers raise rates for next year.
“Virtually all marketplace enrollees in Idaho are going to see their premiums increase,” he said.
Mark and Sarah Lathrop, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, don’t qualify for enhanced subsidies. The couple, who own Liberty Lake Wine Cellars just across the border in Washington, currently pay $1,116 a month for their ACA plan.
Their 2026 renewal notice shows that premium climbing to $1,351 a month, a 21% increase, while their plan out-of-pocket maximum will jump from $12,000 to $18,400.
Mark Lathrop said they have already cut back on travel, dining out and other expenses as sales have flattened in their wine business and costs have risen, mainly due to tariffs.
Despite the higher premiums, the couple plan to keep their coverage due to a medical condition that requires annual monitoring.
“I don’t think my situation is as bad as some others that are losing tax credits though, but it will be common among small-business owners,” Mark Lathrop said.
The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Monday, April 20, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 20.
Winning Powerball numbers from April 20 drawing
09-17-36-47-64, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 20 drawing
Day: 9-5-5
Night: 1-3-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 20 drawing
Day: 9-3-4-7
Night: 6-9-2-8
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from April 20 drawing
05-07-31-41-43, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 20 drawing
05-12-27-33-45
Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 20 drawing
19-37-40-41-53, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
I remember watching a documentary about Idaho’s wildlands. A narrator said there were probably many parts of the state where no human being has ever set foot. I believe that, but I stay relatively close to the highways. If I were 30 years younger, I would probably enjoy exploring the back country, but today, unless a plane takes me in and out, it’s not happening. I can’t say definitively that there is one spot that I find better than others. We’re surrounded by beautiful terrain, however. One place keeps calling me back.
Like a Scene from a Legendary Movie
When I go over the mountain between Gooding and Fairfield, I take time to stop at the overlook above the Camas Prairie. It reminds me of a scene in Exodus, where the Paul Newman character takes an American woman to look across a flat plain leading to Mount Tabor. He explains that’s the site where Deborah gathered her armies. It makes me feel there is something godly about the Camas Prairie. I keep going back to this spot. Sometimes I take along a folding chair and sit and look at the world below.
Slow Down and See the Work of the Creator
Fairfield may be nothing more than a blip as people speed down Route 20, but it’s their loss. On the other side of the highway is some of the prettiest country in Idaho. It’s going to be a lot less lush this spring, but drought conditions haven’t been nearly as severe in the central highlands. But if I’m granted a few more years by the Almighty, I plan to see the prairie for many more springs.
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Gallery Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 19.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 9-5-1
Night: 8-0-6
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 2-7-0-3
Night: 4-3-3-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 19 drawing
15-28-31-38-45
Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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