It's not just you — healthcare deductibles are ballooning

June 5, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Healthcare deductibles are ballooning — and it's not just you

Jake Caldrin, a long-distance runner in Indianapolis, never thought much about his health insurance deductible. He picked one of the cheapest ACA plans he could find, with a premium under $300 a month in 2020. The nearly $8,000 deductible didn't worry him — he was healthy, went to the gym, and never expected to need it. Then this winter, he slipped on ice and hurt his back. He avoided the ER for ten days, until he started losing feeling in his legs. An MRI showed a herniated disc crushing his nerves. He had emergency surgery that night. Now he's on a payment plan with the hospital: $216 a month for the next four years, just to meet his $11,000 deductible. "I thought I was doing pretty well for myself," he told Marketplace's Samantha Fields, "and now I'm in such a money crunch. I'm utilizing credit just for normal expenses."

The underinsurance problem

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What you'll learn

1 (10:17) **Health Insurance Deductibles Are Rising Sharply** - Marketplace introduces the main story: health insurance is getting more expensive, especially for ACA users, with a focus on rising deductibles.
2 (10:58) **Jake Caldrin's Story: A Herniated Disc and an $11,000 Deductible** - Personal narrative of an Indianapolis man who chose a cheap ACA plan and was hit with a massive deductible after emergency back surgery.
3 (12:17) **The Underinsurance Problem** - Health economist Lindsey Allen explains that 25% of insured people are underinsured, meaning cost barriers remain high despite having coverage.
4 (12:55) **Average ACA Deductible Hits Nearly $4,000** - KFF data shows the average ACA deductible jumped $1,000 in one year.
5 (13:28) **The Failed Purpose of Deductibles** - Deductibles were designed to discourage unnecessary care and encourage shopping, but have instead become a barrier to all care.
6 (14:00) **Jake Caldrin's Ongoing Burden** - After his surgery, he is on a four-year payment plan to meet his $11,000 deductible, forcing him into credit card debt for normal expenses.
7 (15:31) **Market Numbers and the Jobs Report Fallout** - The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all fell sharply, driven by rate worries and a sell-off in AI chip stocks.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Growing health insurance premiums, particularly for plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, have been in the headlines as cuts to Medicaid roll out nationwide. But healthcare deductibles are also growing — and with them, the group of Americans who have insurance but can’t afford to use it. Also in this episode: The hospitality industry adds jobs in May, a jeweler in California mines his own gold, and we recap the week’s economic headlines.

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