Tariffs, inflation, and other federal policies have battered U.S. farmers' bottom lines. Now many farmers say the expiration of federal health care subsidies will make their coverage unaffordable.

Private health insurance premiums will be going up in 2026 – in some cases, by a lot. Congressional Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked on health care reform, following disagreements over America’s health insurance marketplace that contributed to November’s government shutdown.

Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange marketplace, has extended its open enrollment period until the end of the month.

Thursday marks the beginning of the new year and that also means the start of a new way we look at, and pay for, health insurance.

They said that some of the premium increases are due to an increase in hospital outpatient visits and coverage of GLP-1 drugs. But that’s only part. The real jump comes from health care system consolidations — mergers and acquisitions — and the trend for hospitals to jack up prices “well above their costs.”

Since 1999, insurance premiums increased at 3 times the rate of US workers’ earnings, along with escalating hospital prices.