UPDATE 1 — US individual health insurance enrollment fell to 20.5 million as of June, KFF says

(Adds detail on the analysis from KFF spokesperson in paragraph 5) By Amina Niasse NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Affordable Care Act and other individual health insurance plan enrollment fell 18% to 20.5 million members in June, according to health policy research firm KFF, marking the steepest annual decline since 2015 as Americans struggle with rising health insurance costs. Enrollment was 25.2 million in the year-earlier period, KFF said. The 2010 Affordable Care Act, passed under Democratic President Barack Obama, created income-based government-subsidized health plans for individuals, commonly known as Obamacare. Millions have dropped coverage this year after extra COVID-19 pandemic subsidies expired, doubling or even tripling costs for some people. A previous KFF study found enrollment declined 12% year-over-year in February. KFF's analysis of the individual health insurance market also includes plans sold directly by insurers and those not regulated by the ACA, such as short-term coverage, a KFF spokesperson said. US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said in a Wednesday press briefing that about 20 million people currently rely on Obamacare. KFF s