The health insurance premiums for Obamacare Georgia (ACA) are set to rise significantly, pushing the projected average monthly premium for individual plans to $932 next year. Compared to 2025, this represents a staggering 52% increase in just two years.
Georgia Access Insurance Rate Hikes and Market Changes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported on the 16th, citing Georgia Insurance Department data, that rate hikes for insurers participating in Georgia Access—the state’s Obamacare insurance exchange—will range from 11% to 29% next year. While premiums vary based on plan and subscriber location, the statewide average monthly premium for individual coverage is expected to climb from $614 in 2025 to $774 in 2026, and further to $932 next year. This marks a $318, or roughly 52%, increase over a two-year period.
Double-digit rate hikes will continue next year. Oscar Health’s premiums are projected to rise by about 29% to an average of $961 per month. Ambetter, expected to secure the largest share of subscribers in Georgia, received approval for an 11% hike, bringing its average monthly premium to $918. Although Ambetter’s upcoming increase is relatively modest, its rates already spiked over 37% from $602 last year to $833 this year.
Looking at the two-year trajectory, the growth in premiums is even more pronounced. CareSource recorded the highest surge, with average monthly premiums jumping 62% from $584 in 2025 to $943 next year. Alliant rose 56% from $611 to $955, Oscar climbed 56% from $617 to $961, and Ambetter increased 53% from $602 to $918. Meanwhile, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) grew 51% from $650 to $984, Kaiser rose 43% from $657 to $938, and AMGP went up 37% from $598 to $818.
The lineup of participating insurers is also shifting. Antidote, a newcomer to the Georgia market, proposed an average monthly premium of $929. Conversely, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare will not offer products next year, and Aetna has already exited the market following 2025.
Drivers of Premium Increases and Declining Enrollment
The primary catalysts behind these soaring premiums are rising medical costs combined with reductions in federal insurance subsidies. The ACA premium tax credit benefits that were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic expired at the end of last year, increasing the actual financial burden on subscribers. While some policyholders remain eligible for subsidies, the additional pandemic-era support has disappeared.
Rising medical service prices, inflation, and healthcare workforce shortages were also cited as major contributors to the recent premium hikes. Additionally, the growing utilization of expensive GLP-1 weight-loss medications has further driven up insurer medical expenditures.
As premiums climb, a negative feedback loop threatens the market: relatively healthy enrollees are dropping coverage, leaving behind a sicker pool of participants with higher medical utilization needs. This increase in per-capita medical costs for insurers acts as a pressure point for even higher future rates.
In fact, enrollment in Georgia Access is declining rapidly. As of January 1 of this year, over 1.3 million Georgia residents were enrolled in Obamacare, but that number fell below 870,000 by last month. In less than nine months, enrollment has dropped by more than a third. The state government projects that Obamacare enrollment will shrink further to approximately 816,000 next year.
The upcoming open enrollment period for Georgia Access is scheduled to begin on the 1st of next month and run through January 15 of next year.
