Erin Stone
is a reporter who covers climate and environmental issues in Southern California.
Published July 31, 2023 5:00 AM
The Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory is becoming an official climate resilience hub.
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Topline:
When a heat wave hits, cities promote “cooling centers": ibraries, rec centers and other public places to find air conditioning and water. But as the climate crisis increases the risk of power outages and disaster, some communities are looking to build “resilience hubs” instead.
Why it matters: As pollution from burning fossil fuels drives higher average temperatures and longer and more extreme heat waves, communities and officials are grappling with ways to adapt. One essential need? A cool space to go when it’s too hot to be outside. But increasingly, that space is not one’s own home. Community groups say "resilience hubs" can help communities ride out heat, wildfire smoke and power outages.
What's a resilience hub?: They're buildings that are already well-used and trusted in a community that have AC, emergency resources and can be retrofitted with solar panels and battery power so they can ride out a power outage. As opposed to traditional cooling centers, they’re chosen by the community and aren’t necessarily run by a government entity.
What's next: Some of California's first official resilience hubs are being developed in Boyle Heights, Wilmington and South L.A. The city of L.A. is working to retrofit existing cooling centers in strategic areas as well.
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How “Resilience Hubs” Can Help Communities In The Climate Emergency
But increasingly, that space is not one’s own home. And given our historically mild southern California climate, many Southlanders have no air conditioning — some 20% of homes in Los Angeles have no AC, for example.
As the climate crisis collides with the twin crises of housing and affordability, cities like L.A. promote places like libraries, senior centers and parks as cooling centers. The trouble is, not many people use them. And when the power grid goes down, these places go dark too.
Enter the concept of a “resilience hub.”
These are buildings that are already well-used and trusted in a community, that can provide helpful resources outside of air conditioning, water and some board games to play. They’re retrofitted with solar panels and battery power so they can ride out a disaster. They’re chosen by the community and aren’t necessarily run by a government entity.
From Boyle Heights to Wilmington, grassroots groups across L.A. are establishing some of California’s first “resilience hubs.” At the same time, the city of L.A. is working to retrofit certain existing cooling centers in strategic areas to serve as “resilience hubs” as well.
Where to put resilience hubs
In Wilmington, the grassroots group Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) did extensive surveying and engagement work to establish the Tzu Chi Clinic as a resilience hub that will be retrofitted with solar panels and backup power. The clinic is right near a high school and is already highly used. And the Wilmington Senior Center is another resilience hub they established — it’s already been outfitted with solar panels and battery storage. Boyle Heights is also getting a resilience hub (but we’ll go back to this one later).
“Resilience hubs are different from cooling centers because they have more resources and more space for people to just come together,” said Romeo Clay, a 17-year-old organizer with CBE. He goes to high school right near the Tzu Chi Clinic and regularly spends time there.
“A resilience hub is a place for a community to come together and really build resiliency,” Clay said. “If they need housing, if they need help paying their bills, or they just need someone to listen.”
Mapping potential resilience hubs
Scientists at PSE Healthy Energy, a scientific research institute, created an interactive map to help communities and government agencies identify potential resilience hubs in the areas of highest need.
The tool overlays data on air pollution burdens, socioeconomic and racial demographics, types of buildings, potential for power outages, types of climate impacts and more to identify hundreds of potential resilience hub sites across the state.
"If you're wealthy, you have solar and battery storage on your house and you ride through some of these multi-day outages," said PSE senior scientist Patrick Murphy. "Your lights stay on, your refrigerator stays cold, and your house stays full of clean, cool air — unless you're a renter, unless you're low income. Resilience should be in the home. Until then, resilience hubs provide a place deeply embedded in a neighborhood that provides clean, cool air, a place to charge your phone, a place to put medicines."
"This [research] does indicate a lot needs to be done and here are some places to start where you won't be wrong," said Murphy.
The city of L.A. is close to completing a retrofit of the Green Meadows Recreation Center in South Los Angeles. The building will have solar panels and battery storage, as well as be turned into a microgrid, to help power the city in times of need.
“That's really the ideal resilience center for the city,” said Chief Heat Officer Marta Segura. She said the city is using climate and socioeconomic data and CalEnviroScreen, a statewide tool that identifies communities with the highest pollution burdens, to identify which existing buildings can be retrofitted in the areas of highest need.
Los Angeles appointed its first chief heat officer on June 3, 2022. Marta Segura will help coordinate the city’s emergency response to extreme heat.
“When we have money available, we are attempting to prioritize these areas because this is where we can make the biggest improvements in the shortest amount of time,” Segura said.
“We’ll not just get the best results from a public health perspective and reduce the risk of heat injury or hospitalization, but we will also begin to lower emissions because we're going to bring climate adaptation to those areas — more tree canopy, more shade," Segura said.
She added that increasing coordination with non-profits already working on establishing resilience hubs is needed, as well as identifying resources for the most vulnerable residents who may not have viable ways to actually get to these hubs. For example, Segura said the Department on Disability, as well as the Department of Aging, have transportation vouchers and can help provide equipment like ACs for people with disabilities.
Building community and climate resilience
For Joey Rodriguez, the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory on East César Chávez Avenue is already a resilience hub. He’s been coming here since he was 15. Now 20, he’s gone from intern to program coordinator for the non-profit, which offers free classes and paid opportunities in film, art, music and digital production for young people in the area.
“I was originally supposed to, according to my parents, be a doctor or a nurse,” Rodriguez said. So he was sent to Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School. But it didn’t feel right.
“I had always been the kid that went straight to school and straight back home,” Rodriguez said. “Prior to becoming a part of the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, I had never really connected with my community. So once I found out that this place existed, I started coming and I never left.”
Now, it’s a second home.
Joey Rodriguez, 20, is program coordinator with the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory. Here he sits in one of the building's multiple studios.
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“It was a home to me immediately and I recognized that the other community members that I was around also recognized it as a home,” Rodriguez said. “So when it was officially named a resilience hub, it only helped elevate the work that we were already doing.”
To become an official climate resilience hub, the Conservatory partnered with local non-profit Climate Resolve to get funding to retrofit the space so it can have solar panels and battery storage to provide a safe place during power outages and disasters. Those additions are expected to be completed by mid-2024.
It's a cooling space, but it's also a healing space. It’s a healing space because we've made it that way.
— Joey Rodriguez, program coordinator at Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory
In the meantime, they’re operating as a cooling center and working with staff to implement climate education into their work in the long-run. They've hosted events on disaster preparedness training, the impacts of the climate crisis, and practical resources for community members to access things like rooftop solar panels installation, help paying utility bills, or access to AC rebates and other resources that can help community members navigate the climate crisis.
Andres Rodriguez, who also grew up in Boyle Heights, is resilience coordinator with Climate Resolve, the non-profit partnering with the Conservatory on the resilience hub retrofit.
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“Resilience, you're being proactive,” said Andres Rodriguez, resilience coordinator with Climate Resolve. “When you're adapting, you're reacting. Having those deep ties within the community, gives [the Conservatory] the ability to be there when a climate emergency happens.”
And the benefits go far beyond a safe place to huddle during an emergency. One example of the space’s intersectionality at work —they hired local artists to paint a mural with a non-toxic paint that can help absorb air pollution. That also launched their Mural Workforce Academy to train artists in mural painting.
It’s a far cry from a typical “cooling center,” which is generally made up of temporary seating, a cooler of bottled water, and some board games in a designated room away from other activities.
The Mid Valley Senior Center on July 14, 2023. It's a city-run cooling center in the San Fernando Valley.
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While a building retrofitted with solar panels and battery storage provides physical resilience, the space’s community building of the space is at the core of its ability to be a resilience hub, said Joey Rodriguez.
“What's the difference between a nice, fresh gym where you just huddle around and cool off versus this space? This space is made for us. It’s made by us,” said Rodriguez. “It's a cooling space, but it's also a healing space. It’s a healing space because we've made it that way."
Inside the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, the walls are lined with posters and artwork.
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A historic space long rooted in community
Josof Sanchez, better known as Mr. OG, walks into the entrance hall of the Conservatory. It’s lined with photos of iconic musicians and artists. He points to a portrait of a young Ray Jimenez.
“Little Ray was one of the first producers here in East L.A.,” Sanchez said. “He was known as the brown James Brown.”
There are portraits of many who performed here, including the best East L.A. bands, such as El Chicano and Willie G. and Thee Midniters, as well as artists such as Stevie Wonder and Sonny and Cher — the former pair lived in the building when they first started making music.
Artists including Stevie Wonder, left, and Little Ray Jimenez, first portrait in top row, spent time in the historic building now known as the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory.
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For generations, this building has been a beloved and safe space for Eastside communities, particularly those experiencing marginalization. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was a resource center run by Jewish socialists. In 1949, it became The Paramount Ballroom, hosting local and internationally-renowned artists alike, then The Vex in 1980, where the east L.A. punk, rock and local music scene thrived. It was a place that challenged the racial segregation of the times, and served in opposition to the Hollywood scene, which largely excluded people of color.
Today, as a nonprofit that provides free and affordable arts programming for young people in the community, the place serves hundreds of families every year, many of whom have been impacted by gang violence and the criminal justice system, said Sanchez.
"We produce hope here," he said. "We're dream builders."
Josof Sanchez, or Mr. OG, left, and Julie Matsumoto, right, host a radio program out of the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory and run a non-profit for local young people called Operation Street Kidz.
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Sanchez, a Vietnam veteran and former probation officer who grew up in Boyle Heights, is a motivational speaker who runs his own radio show — The Mr. OG Show, but OG stands for “opportunity giving” instead of “original gangster." Through his organization Operation Street Kidz, he works with young people impacted by gangs and the justice system.
When I visited on a recent afternoon, young people were mixing music on laptops during a class, others were recording or live on air in one of the building’s many studios.
“My mission is to speak into the lives of young people and their parents and let them know that they're somebody, they're unique, they're rare," Sanchez said. "That’s what this place has done."
Lack of funding
In 2021, the state launched the Community Resilience Centers program to support and speed up resilience hub efforts. This year it’s set to fund a first round of projects.
The idea is to fund a wide array of resilience hubs that are centered in communities hardest hit by climate impacts, said Coral Abbott, the program's manager at the Strategic Growth Council, the state agency that's in charge of facilitating the effort.
“We wanted to think about how to make this program help communities get themselves set up to respond to whatever emergencies they're most at risk for,” Abbott said. ”Rather than say like, we want to see ‘X’ number of applications from local government or a community-based organization, we are really trying to have the underlying criteria be understanding what communities priorities are, understand how they were involved in selecting these sites because we want them to be places that they trust and are willing to go.”
But the program, originally allocated $160 million, has already seen significant cuts — the first round makes $98 million available and there’s no guarantee the program will continue, said Amar Azucena Cid, a deputy director with the Strategic Growth Council.
“Funding definitely impacts how we plan, especially if we're thinking about setting up this program as a long-term program with real solutions that I think communities are really looking forward to,” she said.
“I think the hard part with standing up a new program of this magnitude is folks want to test it out and I think that's what we were hearing from the Department of Finance,” Cid said. “I firmly believe that this is something that can be stood up long-term, but I think on the budget perspective it is like, let's get that proof of concept going and then we can move in towards what that looks like for long-term funding.”
Abbott said the department already expects funding to run out this first round.
“The amount of funding we have is not going to meet the demand,” she said.
The “Light Gate” sculpture stands adjacent to the entrance of the Manhattan Beach Library on Highland Ave.
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Topline:
There’s something about a library that’s inherently beautiful. We've handpicked these libraries to visit — for you to find peace and beauty.
Why it matters: Some of the most gorgeous libraries are reflections of their respective communities. Whether it’s seeing a mosaic from a local artist, or standing in awe simply from the architecture itself, these libraries hold countless stories and we become part of them whenever we walk through their doors.
Why now? The libraries listed here are just a small sample of SoCal’s offerings. Need a green space to unwind with your latest fiction read? Does being surrounded by art and color help ease the drudgery of a study session? Remote work with an ocean view?
There’s something about a library that’s inherently beautiful. Maybe it’s the silence or the history of the building. Maybe it's the idea of books being shared among countless readers.
Some of the most gorgeous libraries are reflections of their respective communities. Whether it’s seeing a mosaic from a local artist, or standing in awe simply from the architecture itself, these libraries hold countless stories and we become part of them whenever we walk through their doors.
The libraries listed here are just a small sample of SoCal’s offerings. Need a green space to unwind with your latest fiction read? Does being surrounded by art and color help ease the drudgery of a study session? Remote work with an ocean view?
We hope there’s something on this list for you.
East Los Angeles Library
4837 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles
West entrance of the East Los Angeles Library
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From its brightly-colored cylindrical towers to the mosaics that adorn the building’s entrance, the East Los Angeles Library is a tribute to Mayan designs, with a particular reference to their astronomical observatories.
Enter from the west — or parking lot — side, the red tower stands in for the sun. Above that entrance, visitors are greeted with a stunning mosaic mural by artist José Antonio Aguirre, carved out of limestone and comprised of Byzantine and Venetian glass. This exterior panel of the four-part mural shows an open book amid a sea of geometric shapes and images.
A view of the East Los Angeles Library’s east entrance adjacent to Belvedere Park Lake.
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Enter from the east or lakeside (yes, there’s a lake just steps away), the blue tower representing the moon.
East Tower, Mosaic Cycle Mural, “Our Legacy, Forever Presente”, “Arrival” movement by José Antonio Aguirre.
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The vast scope of Aguirre’s 2,000-foot-plus work unfolds as you continue your entry, and features prominent East L.A. figures such as Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Edward James Olmos and the late former First District County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who commissioned the artwork.
East Los Angeles Library interior featuring Mosaic Cycle Mural, “Our Legacy, Forever Presente”, “Departure” movement by José Antonio Aguirre.
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Outside, the library is surrounded by Belvedere Park — approximately 30 acres of greenspace and a recreation center. If you decide to take a stroll around the nearby lake, you’ll find ducks swimming and see artist Rude Calderón’s “Leaping Fish, Nature's Cycles” water features–two sculptures of fish, one leaping out of the water, and one diving back in.
A view of Belvedere Park Lake outside of the East Los Angeles Library.
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Billie Jean King Main Library
200 W. Broadway, Long Beach
Billie Jean King Main Library exterior on Broadway in Long Beach.
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The Billie Jean King Main Library in Downtown Long Beach is a study in modern architecture. From Broadway, this building looks like row after row of glass panes, white window frames and caramel-toned wood.
The structure was designed with sustainability in mind, and is made up of renewable timber that’s been reinforced where needed with steel and concrete.
The central atrium of the Billie Jean King Main Library.
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The focal point of the building is its central atrium, a large, open space on the first floor with light pouring in from all sides. This room can be used for events, workshops or exhibits, including anexhibition showcasing work from the city’s Professional Artist Fellowship, a grant program that honors living Long Beach artists who have affected local communities.
From left to right “Ethereal Queen” and “Unbreakable Spirit” by artist Stephanie Rozzo is displayed in the atrium of the Billie Jean King Main Library.
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Grab a desk overlooking the first floor to get another perspective of the expansive, light-filled interior space. Or catch a window seat with a view of Lincoln Park on Pacific Avenue.
View from the Billie Jean King Main Library overlooking Lincoln Park in Long Beach.
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Manhattan Beach Library
1320 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach
A view of 14th street through the “Light Gate” sculpture by artists Mags Harries and Lajos Héder.
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The Manhattan Beach Library is a perfect example of how wonderfully spoiled we are by the weather here in SoCal. This two-story, 21,500-square-foot building on Highland Avenue offers panoramic views of the sun and the ocean of this beach city for all who enter.
View from the second story of the Manhattan Beach Library.
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The theme of ocean living is evident throughout, like an eye-catching sea kelp sculpture with 10-foot tall leaves that hugs the ramp to the library’s stairwell.
The sculpture consists of multiple elongated, organic forms arranged in a flowing, wave-like pattern across the surface.
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“Personal Archaeology” installation by Kathy Taslitz near the stairwell of the Manhattan Beach Library
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Or the row of jellyfish floating overhead when you climb the stairs.
“Prevailing Affinities” installation by Kathy Taslitz near the stairwell of the Manhattan Beach Library.
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Cerritos Library
18025 Bloomfield Ave., Cerritos
Exterior of the Cerritos Library.
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From its golden titanium exterior to the T-Rex fossil replica inside, the Cerritos Library offers its patrons an experience to remember with every visit. In fact, it was designed to be the first "Experience Library," with themed spaces like an “Old World” collegiate-style reading room, or its 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, which faces the entrance.
A view of the Cerritos Library’s 15,000 gallon aquarium, shot from the library’s children’s area.
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Like the rest of the libraries on this list, Cerritos regularly displays work from local artists. Its latest exhibition features Patrice Monteiro, who uses a technique called paper quilling, where strips of paper are placed together to create each piece. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 30.
“Joy is a Revolution” by Patrice Monteiro, inspired by Nettie Beatrice’s digital art, on display in the Cerritos Library through December 2025.
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Perhaps the biggest draw to this library is its children’s area. Step through the passage of giant story books and you’re in an enchanted world that includes a rainforest tree, a space shuttle, a lighthouse and the aforementioned 40-foot long Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton replica named Stan.
The Cerritos Library’s children’s area features a lighthouse, rainforest tree and 40-foot long Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil replicas.
After a decade of expanding health coverage and safety net programs, the Golden State took a sharp detour in 2025. As federal funding reductions and policy changes rippled through the health care system, California confronted service cuts, coverage losses and growing uncertainty.
Medicaid coverage: During the summer, a congressionally-approved spending plan slashed nearly a trillion dollars from the Medicaid program over the next decade. Funding cuts and new rules — such as work requirements — are expected to push 3.4 million Californians off their Medicaid coverage as changes take effect.
Federal marketplace: In Washington, a dispute over whether to renew enhanced premium subsidies that help keep Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans affordable prompted the longest shutdown in history. Absent federal action, hundreds of thousands of people could be priced out of Covered California insurance in 2026. More than 2,300 Dreamers in California have already lost access to the state marketplace: The Trump administration overturned a rule that had allowed undocumented people brought to the country as children to buy subsidized health insurance.
Read on... for more on the effects of federal changes and actions.
After a decade of expanding health coverage and safety net programs, the Golden State took a sharp detour in 2025. As federal funding reductions and policy changes rippled through the health care system, California confronted service cuts, coverage losses and growing uncertainty.
During the summer, a congressionally approved spending plan slashed nearly a trillion dollars from the Medicaid program over the next decade. Funding cuts and new rules — such as work requirements — are expected to push 3.4 million Californians off their Medicaid coverage as changes take effect.
In Washington, a dispute over whether to renew enhanced premium subsidies that help keep Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans affordable prompted the longest shutdown in history. Absent federal action, hundreds of thousands of people could be priced out of Covered California insurance in 2026. More than 2,300 Dreamers in California have already lost access to the state marketplace: The Trump administration overturned a rule that had allowed undocumented people brought to the country as children to buy subsidized health insurance.
Shifting federal policy forced the state the state to inject millions into Planned Parenthood to try to keep clinics afloat. Anticipating more restrictive federal immunization rules under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, California advanced its own vaccine guidelines.
On affordability, Gov. Newsom delivered on his promise to cut down the cost of insulin. In 2026, diabetics will be able to purchase long-acting insulin pens at pharmacies for $11 a pen. After CalMatters shed a light on disappearing birth centers, state lawmakers approved a new law improving access in underserved areas, streamlining licensure requirements so that birth centers can more easily contract with Medicaid.
As federal spending cuts phase in, they’ll have implications for hospitals and other providers, such as an uptick in uncompensated care.
California has been distributing $6.4 billion from a voter-approved mental health bond. Starting July 1, the Behavioral Health Services Act will also require counties to spend revenue received from a 1% tax on incomes over $1 million on services and housing for people who are homeless.
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All year, the Explore L.A. team has brought you stories of discovery and connection.
Why now: As we head into 2026, we bring you our favorite stories of the year.
The context: We went inside a Los Angeles institution that has been left untouched for more than a decade. We learned to make peace with our city's backyard urban critters. We marveled at street art painted decades ago, pulsing with contemporary relevance. We watched as old houses moved across the city to become new homes for fire survivors.
Read on... for more of our handpicked highlights from 2025!
We made it. Happy (almost) 2026.
All year, the Explore L.A. team has brought you stories of discovery and connection.
As we leave 2025 behind, we've handpicked our favorites of the year.
We did a lot.
We went inside a Los Angeles institution that has been left untouched for more than a decade. We learned to make peace with our city's backyard urban critters. We marveled at street art painted decades ago, pulsing with contemporary relevance. We watched as old houses moved across the city to become new homes for fire survivors. We had a leisurely day — one of us at least — hanging out at a lilac garden to hear stories of love and devotion. We witnessed the closing of a family business in Chinatown — and how that loss ricocheted across the neighborhood. We became obsessed with a cola from Japan bearing our city's namesake and tried to find the connection.
And there are so many more stories that took us to different parts of the region this year — stories that brought us closer to this place, stories that we have brought back to you.
We hope you like them as much as we liked writing and producing them. Catch you again next year.
When Yue Wa Market closes this week, Chinatown will lose a neighborhood anchor
Yue Wa Market blends into the storefronts of Broadway in L.A.'s Chinatown.
"I got to spend the final days of Yue Wa Market with the family who runs it — watching them say goodbye to their customers and closing a chapter in a Chinatown that was transforming around them. It’s a story that stuck out for me this year because it showed, in a surprisingly intimate space, how every person leaves an imprint on their neighborhood."
– Josie Huang, Weekend Edition host and reporter
After two decades, one man's obsession with the lilac is coming to an end in Idyllwild
A small bundle of lilacs at the Idyllwild Lilac Garden.
"My favorite story this year focused on flowers in bloom and the end of an era for the man who tended to them for over two decades. I particularly loved this story because it was one of the first where I was able to spend the entire day out in the field on my own. It was a nice little road trip where I crossed three county lines, drove into a mountain town, and shared an afternoon with lilac legend Gary Parton. It was an honor to catch the man at the end of his second career and an honor to tell his story."
– Dañiel Martinez, Explore L.A. producer
Go inside LA’s old General Hospital before it turns from a spooky Art Deco time capsule into new housing
"For me, exploring L.A. means bringing readers and listeners into places they wouldn't normally have access to. It was an honor to get to go into a beloved building that thousands of Angelenos have a connection to, and learn about its future providing housing and mental health care. Oh, and decaying old art deco buildings are just cool and feel like a movie set."
– Robert Garrova, Explore L.A. reporter
These LA homes were about to be torn down. Now they’re getting new life in fire-ravaged Altadena
"Most of my reporting tends to stick in our region's convoluted, quirky history — but I love this story the most because it's about making something old new again. A group of fire-affected residents are reviving the mostly-forgotten process of house moving to get back on their feet. This showed me nothing is ever truly antiquated if you have enough drive. (As a bonus: check out what moving a home across L.A. County actually looks like.)"
“Here's my thoughts about squirrels: It seemed to hit a nerve — I got readers telling me their methods of deterring squirrels, and others offering their fig preserve recipes. One person said they were only left with one fig on their fig plant, which they cut up into four to share with their family.”
– Suzanne Levy, Explore L.A. editor
The story behind the Pico-Robertson mural depicting working-class Jewish history, painted by a Filipino artist
An image of Cesar Chavez, at the top of the photo.
"There’s a mural in L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood that stands apart from other Jewish themed public art in L.A. in that it does not focus on the religious or national part of Jewish identity.
It’s called 'A shenere un besere velt - A Better and More Beautiful World,' in yiddish. It covers a roughly 60 foot long and 15 feet tall wall on a building occupied by the Worker’s Circle in Pico-Robertson, a mutual aid group founded by Yiddish speaking Jewish immigrants that opened an office in L.A. in 1908, not long after it started in New York.
I love this story because people I interviewed said the mural's message of identity based on working class solidarity with people of other races and ethnicities is just as relevant now as when it was unveiled in 1998."
– Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Explore L.A. correspondent
We went looking for a Japanese cola named 'Los Angeles' — and found a story about home
“I love this story because I had no idea where it was going to take me. I wanted to write about this soft drink named ‘Los Angeles' and the circuitous journey ended with me speaking with someone who grew up as part of a Korean minority group called Zainichi Koreans in Japan. The coolest thing of all? Hwaji Shin's story has so much heart."
– Fiona Ng, deputy managing editor, Explore L.A. and Weekend
Things to consider when looking at cheaper options
By Julie Appleby | KFF Health News
Published December 27, 2025 5:00 AM
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Topline:
The deadline for choosing a health plan is quickly approaching. The official end of open enrollment in California is set for Jan. 15 for coverage starting Feb. 1. Here are five considerations in the decision-making process.
Short-term plans: They are often less expensive than ACA plans. But they cover less. Some ACA shoppers might find themselves considering short-term insurance plans sold outside the government-run marketplaces — or steered toward the plans by insurance brokers. Be wary. They can look a lot like traditional coverage, with deductibles, copayments, and participating networks of hospitals and doctors. Still, they are not ACA-compliant plans and are not available on the official ACA marketplaces.
Plan options with high deductibles: For those wanting to stay with ACA plans, the lowest premiums are generally in the categories labeled “catastrophic” or “bronze.” They have lower premiums but high annual deductibles — the amount a customer must spend before most coverage kicks in. Deductibles for bronze plans average nearly $7,500 nationally, according to KFF. Another option, new for 2026, is expanded eligibility for catastrophic plans, which used to be limited to people younger than age 30. As the name suggests, they’re intended for people who want health insurance just in case they suffer a catastrophic health condition, such as cancer or injuries from a car accident. The plans can have deductibles as high as $10,600 for an individual or $21,200 for a family
Read on . . . for more things to consider when purchasing health insurance.
For the millions of Americans who buy Affordable Care Act insurance, there’s still time left to enroll for 2026. But premium increases and the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies have led to larger-than-expected costs.
Concerned shoppers, wondering if there’s anything they can do, are consulting insurance brokers or talking to representatives at ACA marketplace call centers.
“We’re hearing from people with complex medical conditions who don’t think they can survive if they don’t have access to medical care,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, that state’s insurance marketplace.
And some are considering going outside the ACA to find more affordable options. But that requires caution.
Congress looks increasingly unlikely to extend the enhanced subsidies before the year’s end. Late Wednesday, the House passed a package of measures favored by conservatives that does not address the subsidies and is largely viewed as dead on arrival in the Senate. Earlier Wednesday, however, four GOP moderates joined with Democrats to sign a discharge petition to force a vote — likely in January — on a three-year extension. The Senate and President Donald Trump would also have to approve the measure, but if extended the subsidies could be applied retroactively.
Meanwhile, the deadline for choosing a health plan is quickly approaching. The official end of open enrollment is set for Jan. 15 for coverage starting Feb. 1. In most states, it’s already too late to enroll for coverage starting Jan. 1.
Here are five considerations in the decision-making process:
1. Short-Term Plans: ‘You Have To Be Healthy’
Some ACA shoppers might find themselves considering short-term insurance plans sold outside the government-run marketplaces — or steered toward the plans by insurance brokers. Be wary.
Short-term plans are just that: insurance originally designed as temporary coverage for situations like changing jobs or attending school. They can look a lot like traditional coverage, with deductibles, copayments, and participating networks of hospitals and doctors. Still, they are not ACA-compliant plans and are not available on the official ACA marketplaces.
They are often less expensive than ACA plans. But they cover less. For example, unlike ACA plans, they can impose annual and lifetime caps on benefits. The vast majority do not cover maternity care. Some might not cover prescription drugs.
Short-term plans require applicants to complete a medical questionnaire, and insurers can exclude coverage or cancel a policy retroactively for those with preexisting medical conditions. Also, depending on the terms of the particular plan, a person who develops a medical condition during the coverage period might not be accepted for renewal.
In addition, short-term plans are not required to cover care on the ACA’s checklist of essential benefits, such as preventive care, hospitalization, or emergency services.
The shortcomings of the plans, which critics say are sometimes marketed in misleading ways, have led Democrats to label them “junk insurance.” The Trump administration argues they’re suitable for some people and has sought to make them more widely available.
“We recommend it when it makes sense,” said Joshua Brooker, a Pennsylvania insurance broker. “But if you’re going to enroll in short-term coverage, you need to know which boxes are unchecked.”
“They’re not for everyone. You have to be healthy,” said Ronnell Nolan, the president and CEO of Health Agents of America, a trade group.
And they’re available in only 36 states, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Some states, such as California, prohibit them. Others set tight restrictions.
2. Beware of Coverage That’s Not Comprehensive
There are other types of health coverage offered by sales brokers or other organizations.
One kind, called an indemnity plan, is meant to supplement a traditional health insurance plan by paying toward deductibles or copayments.
Those plans do not have to follow ACA coverage rules, either. Generally, they pay a fixed dollar amount — say a few hundred dollars a day — toward a hospital stay or a smaller amount for a doctor’s office visit. Typically those payments fall short of the full costs and the policyholder pays the rest. They generally also require consumers to fill out medical forms stating any preexisting conditions.
Another type, a faith-based sharing plan, pools money from members to cover their medical bills. The plans are not required to keep any specific amount of financial reserves and members are not guaranteed that the plans will pay their health expenses, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that supports health care research and improvements to the health system.
Sharing plans expanded beyond faith communities after the ACA was adopted. Like short-term plans, they cost less than ACA plans but also don’t have to follow ACA rules.
They are not considered insurance, and some have been accused of fraud by state regulators.
“Yes, it is cheaper, and yes, it does work for some people,” Nolan said. “But you need to understand what that plan does. It would be my last resort.”
3. Consider a ‘Bronze’ or ‘Catastrophic’ Plan, But Be Aware of Deductibles
For those wanting to stay with ACA plans, the lowest premiums are generally in the categories labeled “catastrophic” or “bronze.”
Jessica Altman, executive director of California’s ACA exchange, said her state has noticed an uptick in enrollments in bronze-level plans. They have lower premiums but high annual deductibles — the amount a customer must spend before most coverage kicks in. Deductibles for bronze plans average nearly $7,500 nationally, according to KFF.
Another option, new for 2026, is expanded eligibility for catastrophic plans, which used to be limited to people younger than age 30. As the name suggests, they’re intended for people who want health insurance just in case they suffer a catastrophic health condition, such as cancer or injuries from a car accident, and the plans can have deductibles as high as the ACA’s annual limit on out-of-pocket spending — $10,600 for an individual or $21,200 for a family.
But now people losing subsidies because of the expiration of the enhanced tax credits can also qualify for the plans. However, they may not be available in every region.
Lauren Jenkins, a broker in Oklahoma, said some of her clients earning less than $25,000 this year had qualified for very low-cost or free plans with the enhanced subsidies. Next year, though, their costs may rise to $100 or more per month for a “silver”-level plan, a step up from bronze.
So she is showing them bronze plans to bring down the monthly cost. “But they might have a $6,000, $7,000, or $10,000 deductible they now have to pay,” Jenkins said. “For people only making $25,000 a year, that would be detrimental.”
Both bronze and catastrophic plans are eligible to be linked with health savings accounts, which can be used to save money tax-free for medical expenses. They are more popular with higher-income households.
4. Another Plan May Have Lower Premiums
It can pay to shop around. Some people may be able to find a lower premium by shifting to a different plan, even one offered by the same insurer. There are also different levels of coverage, from bronze to “platinum,” where premiums also vary. Brooker said that in some locations “gold”-level plans are less expensive than silver, even though that seems counterintuitive.
Also, some people who run their own businesses but have only one employee might qualify for a group plan rather than an individual policy. Sometimes those can be less expensive.
Not every state allows this, Nolan said. But, for example, Nolan said, she has a client whose only employee is his wife, so she’s going to see whether they can get a group plan at lower rates.
“That might work out for them,” she said.
ACA rates for small group plans (fewer than 50 employees) vary regionally and are not always less expensive than individual coverage, Brooker said.
“It’s pretty all over the board as to where the rates are better,” he said.
5. Other Rules of the Road
Insurance experts encourage people not to wait until the last minute to at least take preliminary steps. Shoppers can go onto the official federal or state marketplace website and fill out or update an application with required income and other information necessary to determine what the 2026 plan year holds for them.
For instance, even without congressional intervention, subsidies will not go away entirely. They will be smaller, though, and there is an upper income limit — a cutoff for households earning more than four times the poverty level, which comes to $62,600 for an individual and $84,600 for a couple for 2026.
When shopping, consumers should make sure they land on an official ACA website, because there are look-alikes that may not offer ACA-compliant plans. Healthcare.gov is the official federal site. From there, people can find websites serving the 20 states, along with the District of Columbia, that run their own ACA exchanges.
The government sites can also direct consumers to licensed brokers and other counselors who can help with an application.
And a reminder: Consumers also need to pay their first month’s premium for coverage to take effect.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
