UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest health insurer, says it will return any profits it earns from its Affordable Care Act marketplace business to consumers in 2026, stepping into a high-stakes debate on Capitol Hill over the future of enhanced subsidies that helped millions of Americans pay for coverage.
Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley said Wednesday that the company "will voluntarily eliminate and rebate our profits this year for these coverages," according to prepared testimony released ahead of congressional hearings scheduled for Thursday.
The announcement comes as insurance executives face intensifying scrutiny from lawmakers over healthcare costs, and as the White House presses insurers to rein in premiums and out-of-pocket spending.
President Donald Trump has urged insurers to lower prices and has said he would convene health insurance chief executives to seek commitments, though no meeting has been announced.
UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. insurer overall but remains a relatively small participant in the ACA marketplace.
The company said it expects to cover about one million people through marketplace plans in 2026. By comparison, Centene, one of the biggest players in the ACA exchange market, has about six million marketplace customers.
Hemsley is scheduled to testify Thursday morning before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee and later before the House Ways and Means Committee, according to committee information about the hearings.
In his prepared remarks, Hemsley plans to argue that insurance premiums are being driven higher by rising costs across the health system, including hospital care, physician services, and prescription drugs.
Congress, meanwhile, is weighing whether to restore enhanced ACA subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Those subsidies reduced premiums for many enrollees and expanded eligibility for financial help. Their lapse has fueled warnings from policymakers and consumer advocates about higher monthly bills and potential coverage losses.
Federal data show 22.8 million people signed up for 2026 coverage through the marketplaces during open enrollment, below the record pace reported a year earlier.
UnitedHealth did not provide a dollar estimate for how much it expects to rebate. Company spokesperson Robert Josephson said the insurer is "working with the administration on the details" and intends to provide rebates "to members in some manner."
Under existing ACA rules, insurers' profits in the individual market are already constrained through the medical loss ratio, a requirement that insurers spend at least 80% of premium revenue on medical care and quality improvements. Companies that fall short must send rebates back to consumers.
Hemsley also plans to urge lawmakers to expand consumer choice among health plans, curb broker compensation in the ACA marketplace and align provider payments across settings, a policy known as site-neutral payments.
UnitedHealth's decision places the insurer at the center of a broader political fight over affordability, federal subsidies and the future shape of the ACA marketplace, as lawmakers consider whether to revive financial help that has been a key driver of enrollment in recent years.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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