Author: HairWeavings Editorial Team

Do they still talk to each other?

Seven provisions in the new OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) could significantly increase ACA (Affordable Care Act) health insurance costs for some seniors in 2026. Understanding these seven provisions, and careful financial planning could help you avoid some of those higher costs.

“Help!”

The Beatles sang in their 1965 song “Help!”

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down

And I do appreciate you being ’round

Help me get my feet back on the ground

Won’t you please, please help me?

Seven provisions in the new OBBBA decrease the financial subsidies the ACA provides to help pay for health insurance. The new provisions bring the ACA’s financial help down to pre-Covid levels. During the Covid crisis, financial help had been enhanced and increased. Starting in 2026, those enhancements and increases are being cut back. Explanations of these provisions might begin to answer the Beatles’ and some readers’ calls for help.

Seven Provisions to Understand

Here’s how the seven provisions could potentially cost you money.

#1: Less Financial Help

During, and in the five years after the Covid crisis, ACA financial help was enhanced and increased to help folks pay for their health insurance. The new OBBBA will, in 2026, lower that financial help back down to pre-Covid levels.

One estimate from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) is for costs to “increase by over 75% on average, with folks in some states seeing their payments more than double.” ACA’s financial help in 2026 for households can be estimated by using KFF’s calculator.

#2: “Cliff Drop” Straight Down to Zero

Seniors need to be especially mindful of the return of the “cliff drop.” This can be a costly situation where a small increase in your income could cause you to lose ALL of your ACA financial help.

For instance, I used KFF’s calculator to discover that in one hypothetical example, an average 62-year-old could lose approximately $682 per month ($8,183 per year) in financial help. This could happen if their tax return showed an increase in income of just $10, from $60,240 to $60,250.

The red line in this chart illustrates how a small increase in income could cause the loss of all ACA financial help.

This type of “cliff drop” is similar to how a small increase in income could result in the extra costs of IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) surcharges on Medicare premiums.

#3: Axing the Repayment Cap

In 2026, you will no longer benefit from caps on repayment of ACA’s excess financial help. In previous years, you might have received this excess financial help because your actual income at the end of a year came in higher than the estimated income you provided at the beginning of the year.

Here’s a table of the 2025 caps. There will be no caps in 2026.

#4: Annual Open Enrollment Period Curtailed

Beginning in 2026, the open enrollment period will shorten to November 1 through December 15. Previously, ACA open enrollment had run from November 1 through January 15.

#5 Auto-Renewal Eliminated

Currently, during your ACA Open Enrollment, you automatically will be registered to continue with your current plan if you forget to renew. Starting in 2028, you will need to actively renew. Forgetting to renew could cause you to lose the ACA’s financial help.

#6 Personal Information Verification Required

Starting in 2028, you will need to re-verify your personal and income information at each renewal. You might also need to submit documents.

#7 Non-Verification Monthly Fee and Loss of Help

For folks on zero-premium plans, for each month you do not verify your information, you might not receive financial help and might be charged the full cost of your health insurance. You might be also charged a monthly fee.

Crucial Tax and Financial Planning

Knowing how to get the most from the ACA’s financial help can be complicated and confusing. It can be even more complicated and confusing when the rules change.

Clear understanding and thoughtful planning can empower you to get the most from ACA’s financial help. Guidance from a knowledgeable and experienced financial planner can help you navigate through changes and confusion.

Understanding the ACA provisions in the new law, and thoughtful financial planning could provide you with some of the help that the Beatles had sang about in 1965.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Would understanding these new ACA provisions help you with your finances? What additional information about these new ACA provisions would you like to have? How will you plan to take manage the higher costs you might see for your ACA health insurance? Please join the conversation.

“It makes my skin feel so plump.”

“It makes my skin feel so plump.”

After my last post, I was deeply moved by how many women reached out to share their stories of getting divorced in their 60s.

Some felt pushed out – that was my story. Others chose divorce themselves. Some waited until it felt too late. A few were still on the fence.

But what came through in every message was the same: bravery, strength, and hard-earned wisdom. There’s no single path through this life change – but if you’re walking it, you’re not alone.

The New Divorce Trend No One Warns You About

Did you know that divorce rates among older adults are now the highest of any age group? Meanwhile, divorce among younger people is actually declining.

I found this shocking – until I became part of the statistic myself.

Everything Felt Upended

I didn’t know where I would live. I didn’t know how to handle the financial logistics. I was overwhelmed.

We had saved responsibly, but I hadn’t planned for the hidden costs of divorce: moving, furnishing a new home, redoing all the little things you take for granted in a shared life.

Emotionally, I was reeling. And the fear – the fear of being alone, of getting it all wrong – made it hard to think clearly.

Besides being heartbroken, I didn’t know how to begin picking up the pieces. But in the midst of that confusion, I found a few simple strategies that helped me breathe again. I offer them in case they might help you too.

1. Talk to Friends – Even When You’d Rather Hide

Many of us feel shame around divorce. Even if we were the ones who asked for it, we can carry a sense of failure.

That shame makes us go silent. But connection is what heals us.

I pushed myself to talk to friends. To name my fears. To tell the truth. And I felt lighter each time I did.

We heal trauma by telling our stories – sometimes over and over again. That’s not weakness. That’s the brain processing.

Friends may get tired of the repetition. (It’s okay – they love you.) Rotate friends if you need to. Don’t exhaust them – but don’t disappear either.

You’ll start to notice who leaves you feeling supported and who leaves you feeling small. Lean into the people who hold space for your pain, not the ones who judge it.

2. Ask for Help (Yes, Even with the Dishes)

Divorce doesn’t just break your heart – it disrupts your routines.

Cooking, paying bills, cleaning out closets – it all feels like too much at first. I remember standing in the middle of my new apartment, thinking, I don’t even know where to begin.

If someone offers help, say yes. That’s hard for some of us. But this is the time to let love in.

You won’t always feel this foggy. But while you do, every bit of practical help matters.

3. Therapy and Support Groups Are Gifts – Not Last Resorts

I’m a therapist, so yes – I believe in therapy. But even if I weren’t, I’d say this: talking to someone who is trained to listen can make all the difference.

Therapy is a space where you don’t have to be brave. Where you can grieve without apology. Where your story gets to be the whole story.

Support groups, especially those led by therapists, can be equally powerful. You’ll be surprised how much lighter the burden feels when you share it with others walking the same path.

My Lifeline: Morning Pages

Each morning, I wrote three pages by hand – first thing, before distractions or doubts could take over.

Some mornings, I wrote: “This is ridiculous. I have nothing to say.” Other days, I made lists. Sometimes I just vented. Sometimes I cried.

This ritual, called Morning Pages, comes from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. It’s not about writing anything profound.

It’s about showing up for yourself. Clearing the mental clutter. Letting your deeper voice speak – maybe for the first time in years.

It didn’t solve everything. But it helped me hear myself again. It helped me calm down, take the next step, and remember: I am still here.

You’re Not Alone. Let’s Keep Talking.

If you’re in the thick of a major life change – divorce, grief, reinvention – I hope something here speaks to you.

These are just a few tools that helped me. Maybe you’ve found others.

Let’s Reflect Together:

What helped you get through your hardship (be it divorce, loss or something else)? Or what are you still trying to figure out? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments. We are stronger together than we are alone.