Maine’s Affordable Care Act enrollment is down compared to last year after the expiration of certain tax credits that had been the focus of a funding dispute in Congress.

About 58,000 enrollees had selected a plan for 2026 as of Thursday, compared to the final enrollment of 64,678 in 2025, according to state data. This year’s final enrollment total will be released in the spring.

Open enrollment ended Thursday for coverage that begins Feb. 1.

“Early data indicate that enrollment behavior in 2026 is shaped by affordability pressures following the expiration of the federal Enhanced Premium Tax Credits,” according to a news release Thursday from Maine’s Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Congress did not extend the enhanced tax credits, which expired on Dec. 31.

In Maine, premiums will increase by an average of 77% following expiration of the tax credits, according to Maine’s marketplace.

Over 8,000 people who previously enrolled in Maine’s marketplace have canceled their plans, with 33% indicating they could no longer afford coverage as a result of the enhanced tax credits expiring, according to the news release. About 3,000 of the 8,000 gave up coverage because the enhanced credits expired, the release says.

Mitchell Stein, a Maine-based independent health policy analyst, said in an interview Friday that Maine’s ACA enrollment held up better than he expected.

“I was surprised that the reduction in enrollment wasn’t larger,” Stein said. “It shows how desperate people are to have health insurance. They know they put themselves at great risk if they go uninsured, and they need to try to protect themselves.”

Stein said he’s worried enrollment will decline as the year goes on, if some enrollees are unable to afford their premiums and have to drop coverage.

Those hardest hit are people who earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level, or $62,600 for a one-person household because people at those income levels are no longer eligible for any federal help.

Samantha Merrill, of North Berwick, said her premiums have jumped from $478 per month in 2025 to $1,262 this year. Merrill, 59, said to afford her health insurance, she had to pick up an extra part-time job doing more counseling, forgo funding her retirement plan and cut back on spending for entertainment. Merrill said she earns roughly $65,000 per year.

She said the increase, coupled with a $7,500 deductible, is going to cause financial hardship, but she couldn’t risk going without health insurance.

“If I had a crystal ball I would pay as I go, but I don’t and I’m not 25 years old,” Merrill, a self-employed mental health counselor, said in an interview Friday. “If I went without insurance, a significant medical issue would bankrupt me or deplete my retirement.”

A separate set of tax credits — called Advanced Premium Tax Credits — were part of the original law and don’t expire. Among those receiving those tax credits, the average monthly premiums are $181 per month in 2026, compared to $178 in 2025.

There are attempts in Congress to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits. Maine’s U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and independent Angus King are working with a bipartisan group that is attempting to extend the credits, but put new income caps on them. The enhanced credits were a Biden administration reform that was originally passed in 2021 and extended through the end of 2025.

Matthew Felling, a spokesperson for King, said in a statement Friday that “based on the tone and content of the current negotiations, Senator King is optimistic that a fully fleshed-out legislative proposal will be put on paper soon to widen the discussion and move the process forward.”

Another effort this month resulted in the U.S. House approving a three-year extension of the credits, with some moderate Republicans joining Democrats. That measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, according to national news reports.

Both of Maine’s Democratic U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden have supported extending the credits.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Jan. 16 with more information.