I filled in the information on my 1095-A. After I got a screen that showed a number and said to upgrade to Turbo Tax deluxe to claim it. Do I ACTUALLY have to upgrade service to claim part of my retur

For simple tax filings, you can use the Free product and e-file both your state and federal tax returns for free. However, as you enter more complicated tax filings and want use deductions like the Child & Dependent Care Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), or child tax credit or other more complicated deductions, you'd need to use the Deluxe (non-Free) version of the product.

It looks like you either owe back Premium Tax Credit or you are getting more Premium Tax Credit.  The form for that is not included in the Free product.