The percentage represents about 421,900 Utah enrollees. According to a Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute study, that’s higher than the state’s Medicaid enrollment rate, which accounted for 9.7% of Utahns as of February 2025.
HealthCare.gov is a platform run by federal or state governments that helps families, small business owners, their employees, and self-employed workers without access to Medicaid or Medicare compare and select health insurance plans.
“The Marketplace and the accompanying tax credits help make health insurance coverage affordable for Utahns who do not have access to health insurance coverage through work or public health care coverage programs,” Melanie Beagley, senior health research analyst at the Gardner Institute said in a news release. “These include small business owners, their employees, and self-employed workers.”
About 710,000 Utahns work at small businesses, which aren’t mandated to provide health insurance coverage to employees. Only 40.8% of them have access to insurance through their employers, analysts wrote. That’s the sixth lowest in the nation.
The federal government funds up to approximately $1.7 billion in premium tax credits for the state, the study estimated. With a monthly average tax credit of $463, the monthly average marketplace plan premium for Utah residents is $70.
However, premium subsidies that were increased in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act for every income level, including those making below 200% the poverty level, and were extended in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, are set to disappear at the end of this year without another extension.
That would have a deep impact on most enrollees, as almost 63% of Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollees have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level, which this year is roughly $31,300 per year for individuals and about $64,200 for a family of four.
The largest chunk in Utah are children under 18 years old, representing about 28% of the whole population that uses the platform.
This report was originally published at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
