Uncertainty around potential pharmaceutical tariffs is one factor driving up the cost of marketplace coverage in 2025, according to KFF.
Multiple insurers, including UnitedHealthcare plans in New York, Maryland and Oregon, and Independent Health have cited tariffs on pharmaceuticals as one reason behind their requests for higher premiums in 2026, KFF analysts wrote June 16.
Here are three things to know:
- The timing and rate of potential pharmaceutical tariffs is unclear. In April, President Donald Trump said he would implement tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals within a month or two. He did not say how high these tariffs would be. On June 17, Mr. Trump told reporters pharmaceutical tariffs would be implemented “very soon,” Reuters reported.
- Many insurers are requesting double-digit rate hikes for individual plan premiums in 2026, facing a potential expiration of enhanced premium tax credits and rising costs.
- In April, former UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told investors the company felt “better than pretty good” about the potential impact of pharmaceutical tariffs. Mr. Witty said the company has protections to limit price increases in existing contracts, and various legislation limits drug manufacturers from passing on production costs through the system.