Average Obamacare monthly premium in Georgia will soar to $932 next year

Monthly premiums will spike by up to 29% for Georgians who purchase their health insurance plans from the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, according to state data obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Newly finalized rates for the eight insurers participating in Georgia Access, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, show premiums for 2027 plans will increase by between 11% and 29%. Rates differ by plan, location and other factors, but the average premium will be nearly $932 per month.

That’s according to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, which recently finalized the prices ahead of open enrollment, which begins Nov. 1. An office spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

The data reflects a second year of significant double-digit rate increases after Congress let enhanced pandemic-era subsidies lapse at the end of 2025.

That has translated to an average rate increase of roughly 51% in Georgia since 2025, when the average statewide premium was $619 a month.

Some Georgians still receive subsidies to help pay for health insurance. But since the COVID-era tax credits expired, enrollment in Georgia Access plans has plunged by more than one-third, according to the state’s tally.

More than 1.3 million Georgians had an ACA plan as of Jan. 1. That number dropped to less than 870,000 as of Sept. 24, and the state expects the number of participants will continue to decline. Projected enrollment for 2027 Obamacare plans is 816,000.

Researchers have attributed the sharp price increases in recent years to the rising cost of underlying healthcare prices, inflation and labor shortages.

David Howard, a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health, also highlighted the increased use of expensive GLP-1 medications for weight loss, as well as the proliferation of AI among hospitals and doctors to get more claims approved by insurers.

Howard also noted the compounding effect of the higher prices, which have prompted healthier people to drop their insurance plans, leaving sicker people in insurance risk pools and further driving up prices.

“It’s not just a random selection of people who are dropping enrollment,” he said.

ERs see surge of uninsured

Unclear from the data is what people who dropped out of Georgia Access over the past year are doing for healthcare. Although it’s possible some started new jobs that provide employer-sponsored healthcare insurance, or signed up for non-ACA-compliant plans, most are believed to be going without.

For those who stayed with Georgia Access but lost financial assistance, some were driven to select bronze plans that tend to have lower premiums but higher deductibles.

Meanwhile, hospitals all over Georgia have recorded a surge of uninsured patients arriving in their emergency rooms, with many sicker than they used to see, as people defer care until it’s more urgent.

Those uninsured patients must cover their bills out of pocket, but some cannot pay their bills at all, which has put pressure on hospital balance sheets. Advocates have warned that is pushing safety net hospitals — particularly in rural areas— that were already struggling financially to the brink.

Georgia ranks near the top among states with the highest rates of uninsured people, and its premium increases for 2027 as a percentage are on the higher end compared to the rest of the country.

A recent analysis from the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF that compared proposals from 276 insurers participating in the ACA marketplaces from all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed a median proposed premium increase of 15% for 2027 plans, but that was before many prices were finalized. (Georgia’s median price increase for its finalized plans is just shy of 23%.)

Among the eight insurers participating in Georgia Access, Oscar Health is slated to have the largest premium increase, nearly 29%, with an average expected premium of roughly $960 per month.

Ambetter, which is projected to have the largest enrollment of any ACA insurer in Georgia, has an 11% approved rate increase for its 2027 plans. But that came after a substantial 37% rise between 2025 and 2026.

Spokespeople for Oscar and Ambetter did not respond to requests for comment.

The new prices are being rolled out as early voting ramps up in Georgia and around the country. Polling consistently shows healthcare and the cost of living as top issues motivating voters.

This year, state officials scrapped the window-shopping period that has traditionally occurred in the weeks before open enrollment that allowed customers to browse their specific health insurance offerings.