More than 92,000 people are no longer getting Affordable Care Act health insurance in Illinois, including a majority who were dropped because they didn’t pay their monthly premiums, according to new state data.

This lowers the number of people buying health insurance through the state’s marketplace exchange, Get Covered Illinois, than initially thought — driven by people who likely couldn’t afford their plan. Overall, enrollment now stands at 373,065, which includes those who signed up after open enrollment closed for most people. This is a nearly 15% drop from the state’s record high of 437,892 in February 2025, according to data from KFF, which conducts health policy research and polling.

About 64% — or about 59,000 people — were disenrolled from their health insurance plan as of May 31 this year because of nonpayment, according to the state data. This year saw a higher percentage of people disenrolled for nonpayment since at least 2020, according to the state.

Another 28% of enrollees dropped coverage because they gained insurance another way or moved out of state.

In a statement, Get Covered Illinois said the increased costs in insurance led to one of the largest marketplace enrollment declines in nearly a decade because of federal policies.

“Federal policies implemented by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have left Illinoisans facing unprecedented rising health care costs,” the statement read. “… As a state-based marketplace, Get Covered Illinois was able to blunt some of the decline through premium alignment strategies and public outreach and enrollment assistance, but the Trump Administration’s federal actions will continue to impact our residents’ access to affordable health care coverage.”

The enrollment decrease in Illinois for nonpayment mirrors national figures. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that about one in seven people across the country didn’t pay their premiums through the Affordable Care Act.

Advocates say this is what they feared would happen when Congress last year did not extend enhanced tax credits that dated back to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhanced tax credits had made health insurance through the exchange more affordable, according to Kathy Waligora, a leader with the Protect Our Care Illinois. The tax credits were at the center of last fall’s historic government shutdown, though lawmakers never were able to gain enough support to extend them.

“It was really exactly what we expected, and really concerning to see the scale,” Waligora said. “I think probably the most disappointing part is people wanted to be insured or they allowed themselves to be autorenewed and they couldn’t remain insured because of the cost of premiums.”

The state’s data shows that even with the expiration of those tax credits, about 85% of enrollees continue receiving some other form of financial assistance. Still, most of those dropped from their health care plan have annual incomes ranging from $23,475 to $48,225, according to state data.

Obamacare monthly premiums in Illinois rose by 25% this year, but that’s still not as much as expected. State officials had originally predicted enrollees would see an average increase of 78%.

Waligora credited the state with trying to mitigate changes to the Affordable Care Act by, for example, extending the open enrollment period and trying to provide more information about different types of healthcare plans. Still, she described the lower enrollment numbers as a “shocking change” reflecting broader affordability issues in health care.

“We ignore this really loud signal we’ve gotten with the number of people disenrolling, likely going uninsured, because the marketplace coverage is unaffordable, if we don’t act on that, it’s going to have this ripple effect in the system,” Waligora said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2019 “Rebuild Illinois” plan created automatic inflationary adjustments in the state gas tax, which could reach over $1 per gallon by 2056.

Illinois’ state gas tax is slated to go up every year without lawmakers ever voting on the increases.

The state went almost 30 years without raising the tax, which was 19 cents a gallon from 1990 to 2019.

That year, as part of his “Rebuild Illinois” infrastructure program, Pritzker doubled the tax to 38 cents a gallon.

More consequentially, the law created automatic yearly increases linked to inflation. Because of that, Illinois drivers will likely pay more in state gas taxes each year for the foreseeable future unless lawmakers take action, as there’s no expiration date on the annual adjustments.

The gas tax could more than double in the next 30 years. By then, it could be over $1 a gallon, five times more than before Pritzker took office.

The automatic increases allow lawmakers to avoid having to pass an unpopular tax hike and justify it to voters. They also can claim credit when they pause the hikes, saying it’s tax relief for residents.

That’s what the governor has done this year, holding off for six months on a 1.3-cents-a-gallon increase that was slated to kick in July 1.

Pritzker made affordability a central theme of his fiscal 2027 budget, but this temporary reprieve does nothing to change the long-term reality of yearly automatic gas tax increases.

The Illinois Tollway Board might even add automatic inflationary adjustments to passenger tolls, despite the Illinois Tollway reporting its highest collections and net revenue in state history.

Pritzker appoints the tollway board members and is himself an ex-officio member, as is the Pritzker-appointed state secretary of transportation.

Meanwhile, Illinois continues to hoard billions in the state’s Road Fund, money meant for improving transportation infrastructure. The fund held over $3.7 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.

Despite this surplus and drivers paying the nation’s second-highest gas taxes, federal data shows that 80.4% of Illinois roads were considered acceptable in 2024, fewer than in 2015, when the gas tax was still 19 cents.

Lawmakers also divert sales tax revenue on gas that would have gone into the Transportation Fund and Downstate Transportation Fund to fill budget shortfalls. The fiscal 2027 budget redirects $150 million in unexpected gas sales tax revenue from higher fuel costs to help close the state’s broader budget gap.

Gas taxes hit working families the hardest. Middle- and low-income Illinoisans often drive older, less fuel-efficient vehicles and spend a larger share of their income commuting to work, getting to school and handling daily necessities.

Lawmakers should be required to vote on state gas tax increases rather let automatic increases allow them to avoid scrutiny from their constituents.

The Bears claim they’re focused on building a new stadium in Indiana. And yet they’re still talking to Illinois.

On Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told reporters that there have been “incoming calls” from the Bears to Pritzker and legislative leaders in recent days.

“The Bears would like to see something happen,” Pritzker said, via Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois, “and we all do, too. And so the question is, ‘Can they do that?’”

He said the Bears are currently trying to regroup.

Pritzker added that the Bears made some “fumbles” from the outset of the process. Among other things, he mentioned the lack of focus on one location, the absence of a clear plan in the recent legislative session, and the failure to be present on the final day of the session.

The door is open for a special legislative session, if (as Pritzker said) the House and Senate can get together on one piece of legislation. (Pritzker added that legislative leaders can also call a special session.)

And so, while the Bears have a bird in the hand in Hammond, Indiana, they’re still looking for a solution in Illinois. Which makes sense.

Nothing in Hammond is official, and the team’s stated desire to advance the ball in Indiana looks like nothing more than an effort to get the ball rolling in Illinois.