Most of the emergency benefit rules created during the COVID-19 pandemic have ended, but a handful became permanent law and still shape who qualifies for help in 2026. Still active: 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, 12-month continuous Medicaid and CHIP coverage for children, expanded Medicare telehealth (extended through December 31, 2027), Summer EBT, and nationwide SNAP online grocery purchasing. Ended: SNAP emergency allotments (March 2023), Medicaid continuous enrollment (March 31, 2023), P-EBT, the expanded Child Tax Credit (after 2021), and the enhanced ACA premium tax credits (December 31, 2025). The last one is the change hitting the most households right now.
Quick Reference: Status of Pandemic-Era Benefit Rules in 2026
| Pandemic-era change | Status in 2026 | Effective date |
|---|
| Enhanced ACA premium tax credits | Ended | December 31, 2025 |
| ACA 400% FPL subsidy cliff removal | Ended, cliff is back | January 1, 2026 |
| Low-income monthly ACA special enrollment period (at or below 150% FPL) | Paused | August 25, 2025 |
| Medicaid continuous enrollment (no renewals) | Ended | March 31, 2023 |
| SNAP emergency allotments (extra monthly benefit) | Ended | March 2023 |
| P-EBT (pandemic school meal replacement) | Ended, replaced by Summer EBT | 2023 |
| Expanded Child Tax Credit ($3,000 to $3,600, monthly payments) | Ended | After tax year 2021 |
| Affordable Connectivity Program internet discount | Ended | June 2024 |
| 12-month postpartum Medicaid and CHIP coverage | Permanent, 48 states plus D.C. | Made permanent by the 2023 spending law |
| 12-month continuous coverage for children in Medicaid and CHIP | Permanent, required in all states | January 1, 2024 |
| Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) | Permanent | 2024 |
| SNAP online grocery purchasing | Permanent, all states | Expanded 2020 to 2021 |
| Medicare telehealth from home, including audio-only | Active, extended | Through December 31, 2027 |
| Higher SNAP maximum allotments from the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan update | Permanent, but future increases limited | October 2021 |
The ACA Change Affecting the Most People in 2026
The enhanced premium tax credits created by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act expired on December 31, 2025. Congress did not renew them before the 2026 plan year began. That single expiration did two things.
First, it raised the share of income that subsidized enrollees pay toward their benchmark plan at every income level. According to KFF, the average annual premium paid by subsidized enrollees is projected to rise from roughly $888 in 2025 to roughly $1,904 in 2026, an increase of about 114 percent.
Second, it restored the "subsidy cliff" at 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Under the enhanced rules, nobody paid more than 8.5 percent of household income for a benchmark plan, no matter how high their income was. That cap is gone. For 2026 coverage, a household earning one dollar over 400 percent of the applicable poverty guideline loses premium assistance entirely.
| Household size | 400% FPL threshold for 2026 coverage | What happens above it |
|---|
| 1 | approximately $62,600 | No premium tax credit |
| 2 | approximately $84,600 | No premium tax credit |
| 3 | approximately $106,600 | No premium tax credit |
| 4 | approximately $128,600 | No premium tax credit |
Marketplace subsidies for a given plan year are calculated using the poverty guidelines published the prior year, which is why the 2026 cliff is based on the 2025 figures rather than the 2026 guidelines of $15,960 for one person and $33,000 for a family of four.
On January 9, 2026, the House passed a three-year extension of the enhanced credits by a vote of 230 to 196. As of this writing the Senate has not enacted it, so the pre-2021 rules govern 2026 coverage. If your income is near the cliff, small changes in what you report can swing your subsidy by thousands of dollars, so an eligibility check before you file or before you change plans is worth the time.
A second ACA change is easy to miss. The Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule paused the monthly special enrollment period that let people at or below 150 percent of the poverty level sign up any month of the year. That pause took effect August 25, 2025 and is written to sunset at the end of 2026, with exchanges given the option to bring it back for plan year 2027. For now, low income by itself is not a qualifying event. You need open enrollment or a standard life event such as losing coverage, moving, marriage, or a new child.
Medicaid: The Continuous Enrollment Rule Is Long Gone
From March 2020 through March 31, 2023, states could not disenroll most Medicaid members in exchange for extra federal funding. Renewals restarted after that, and the multi-year "unwinding" that followed removed millions of people from the rolls, many of them for paperwork reasons rather than because their income actually changed.
Two pandemic-era protections survived and are now permanent federal law:
- 12-month continuous eligibility for children. Every state must keep children under 19 enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP for a full 12 months after an eligibility decision, even if household income rises during the year. This has been required since January 1, 2024.
- 12-month postpartum coverage. States can extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage for 12 months after the end of a pregnancy instead of 60 days. The option started under the American Rescue Plan Act and was made permanent by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. As of March 2026, 48 states plus Washington, D.C. have adopted it.
If you were dropped during the unwinding and never reapplied, your eligibility today is decided on current rules and current income. A prior termination does not bar you from reapplying, and there is no waiting period.
SNAP: Emergency Allotments Ended, Two Changes Stayed
SNAP emergency allotments, the extra monthly payment that brought every household up to at least the maximum benefit for its size, ended nationwide after the February 2023 issuance. USDA reported the average household lost about $82 per month when they stopped.
Two pandemic-driven improvements remain:
- Online grocery purchasing. Before 2020 this was a pilot in a handful of states. It expanded rapidly during the pandemic and is now available with EBT cards in every state.
- Higher maximum allotments from the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan reevaluation. That update permanently raised SNAP maximum benefits. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025, future Thrifty Food Plan updates are limited to inflation adjustments rather than cost reevaluations.
Newer SNAP rules are unrelated to the pandemic but affect the same households. Work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents now reach through age 64, up from 54. Parents are exempt only if a child in the household is under 14. And households must now document certain expenses, such as housing and utilities, rather than self-attest to them, in order to have those deductions applied to the benefit calculation.
Telehealth: Still Expanded, But on a Deadline
Medicare's pandemic telehealth flexibilities have been extended repeatedly rather than made permanent. They briefly lapsed on February 1, 2026 during a government shutdown, then were restored days later when the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 was signed on February 3, 2026.
Under that law, these flexibilities run through December 31, 2027:
- You can receive telehealth from any location, including your home. The old rules limited telehealth to patients physically located in a rural clinic, hospital, or other approved originating site.
- Audio-only telehealth is covered, not just video.
- Physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists can bill Medicare for telehealth.
The in-person visit requirement for Medicare mental health telehealth is waived through January 1, 2028. Medicaid and private insurer telehealth rules are set separately by each state and plan, so check your own plan rather than assuming the Medicare rules apply.
What Ended and Was Not Replaced
- The expanded Child Tax Credit. The 2021 version was worth up to $3,600 per young child, was fully refundable, and was paid monthly. It expired after tax year 2021. For 2026 the credit is up to $2,200 per qualifying child with up to $1,700 refundable, and it is claimed once a year on your tax return.
- P-EBT. The pandemic school meal replacement ended with the public health emergency in 2023. Summer EBT, branded SUN Bucks in most states, replaced it as a permanent program, with about $120 per eligible child for summer 2026 and 37 or more states plus D.C., territories, and participating tribes taking part.
- The Affordable Connectivity Program. The $30 per month internet discount ran out of funding in June 2024. The older Lifeline program continues at up to $9.25 per month for phone or internet, and up to $34.25 on qualifying Tribal lands.
What Changes Next
Several rules take effect after 2026 and will change eligibility again:
| Change | Starts |
|---|
| Medicaid work and community engagement requirement, 80 hours per month for expansion adults ages 19 to 64 | No later than January 1, 2027 |
| Six-month renewals instead of 12-month renewals for expansion adults | Renewals scheduled on or after January 1, 2027 |
| Shorter retroactive Medicaid coverage window | January 1, 2027 |
| Possible return of the low-income ACA special enrollment period, at each exchange's option | Plan year 2027 |
How to Check Where You Stand Now
- Recalculate your household income as a percentage of the federal poverty level. Use the 2026 guidelines of $15,960 for one person and $33,000 for a family of four, adding $5,680 for each additional person.
- Reapply if you lost Medicaid during the unwinding. Prior termination has no bearing on a new application. Apply through your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov.
- Check whether your state extended 12-month postpartum coverage. In the 48 states plus D.C. that adopted it, coverage runs through the last day of the twelfth month after a pregnancy ends.
- Do not assume your child lost coverage when your income rose. Continuous eligibility keeps children enrolled for the full 12 months.
- Watch your ACA income estimate. With the cliff back, an inaccurate estimate can create a large repayment at tax time or cost you a subsidy you were entitled to.
- Look for programs you never checked. Households that only ever applied for one program during the pandemic often qualify for several, including WIC, LIHEAP, Lifeline, school meals, and state childcare assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are any COVID benefit programs still paying money in 2026?
No pandemic-specific cash or food payments are still being issued. Emergency allotments, P-EBT, stimulus payments, and monthly Child Tax Credit payments have all ended. What continues are permanent program rules that started during the pandemic, such as 12-month postpartum Medicaid coverage, continuous coverage for children, Summer EBT, and expanded Medicare telehealth.
Did the end of the public health emergency change my Medicaid eligibility?
The end of continuous enrollment on March 31, 2023 restarted annual renewals. It did not change the income limits themselves. In expansion states, adults generally qualify at or below 138 percent of the poverty level, which is about $22,025 a year for one person in 2026. If you were removed for missing paperwork, you can apply again at any time.
Why did my ACA premium go up so much for 2026?
The enhanced premium tax credits expired December 31, 2025. Subsidized enrollees now pay a larger share of income toward their benchmark plan, and households above 400 percent of the poverty level get no premium tax credit at all. KFF projects average out-of-pocket premiums for subsidized enrollees roughly doubling year over year.
Can I still enroll in Marketplace coverage outside open enrollment because my income is low?
Not right now. The monthly special enrollment period for people at or below 150 percent of the poverty level was paused effective August 25, 2025. You need a standard qualifying life event, such as losing other coverage, moving, marriage, or the birth or adoption of a child. Medicaid and CHIP, by contrast, accept applications year-round.
Is P-EBT coming back?
No. P-EBT ended with the public health emergency. Summer EBT, called SUN Bucks in most states, is the permanent replacement and provides about $120 per eligible child for the summer. Children enrolled in SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid at qualifying income levels, or who are certified for free or reduced-price school meals, are generally eligible automatically.
Will Medicare telehealth from home go away again?
Not before December 31, 2027 under current law. Congress has extended these flexibilities several times rather than making them permanent, including a brief lapse at the start of February 2026 that was reversed within days. Coverage of telehealth for mental health without a prior in-person visit runs through January 1, 2028.
