What I'm Seeing in 2027 Health Insurance Rates

The headline number

Across the 31 states where I am licensed, the average 2027 individual-market increase is about 15.8 percent, using the higher figure where the trackers disagree. Using the lower figure, it is about 15.3 percent. The middle state, the median, sits at 15.6 percent. Every number here comes from state rate filings as compiled by public trackers, and my 2027 premium increases by state page shows each one with its source.

The trackers put the national figure at about 15 percent. So my states run a little above the national average, but they are not outliers.

One caution before the details. These are average increases for people paying full price. Your own renewal depends on your plan, your county, your age and any change in your tax credit. The average is where to start, not the number on your bill.

The spread is wide

The range runs from 5.7 percent to as much as 25 percent. Here is how the 31 states fall:

• Under 10 percent: 3 states.
• 10 to 15 percent: 12 states.
• 15 to 20 percent: 9 states.
• 20 percent or more: 7 states.

Sixteen of my 31 states, more than half, are at 15 percent or higher. A 15 percent increase on a premium that was already high is a real change in a household budget.

Where increases are largest

Seven states average 20 percent or more:

• Alabama: about 21 to 25 percent, depending on the tracker.
• Montana: about 22.6 to 23.3 percent.
• South Carolina: 22.1 percent.
• Wisconsin: 21.7 percent.
• Oklahoma: about 21.4 to 21.6 percent.
• Georgia: 20.7 percent.
• Mississippi: 20.2 percent.

Four of the seven are in the Southeast. Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi all saw their Marketplaces grow quickly while the enhanced credits were in place, so many enrollees there now face both the loss of those credits and a large rate increase.

Where increases are mild

Three states come in under 10 percent:

• Iowa: 5.7 percent, the smallest in my states.
• Utah: about 6.7 to 7.4 percent.
• Arkansas: 7.6 percent.

Florida, which has the largest Marketplace in the country, sits at 10.4 percent, well under my states' average. That is good news for a lot of people. But a modest average can hide a big personal increase, especially for anyone who lost an enhanced credit in 2026 or is just over the subsidy line in 2027.

What the filings point to

The explanations in the filing summaries repeat the same few pressures. Medical costs keep rising. The enhanced tax credits ended after 2025, and some healthier buyers dropped coverage, which leaves a smaller and costlier pool of people buying their own plans. In states with only a few insurers, each company's rate decision moves the whole market.

State programs helped at the margin but could not stop the increases. Colorado, Delaware, Georgia and Wisconsin all run state reinsurance programs, which lower premiums by covering part of the largest claims. Colorado came in under my states' average. Georgia and Wisconsin are still above 20 percent.

Who feels it most

The rate change hits hardest for people paying full price: households above the subsidy line, many self-employed people, and early retirees in their late fifties and early sixties whose age-rated premiums were already high. For a household under the line, the tax credit absorbs much of an increase in the benchmark plan, though not all of it, and the net change depends on which plan you pick.

Number of insurers does not predict the increase

You might expect states with few insurers to have the largest increases. The filings do not show a clean pattern. Wisconsin has 12 insurers filing and none leaving, and it is still up 21.7 percent. Wyoming has two insurers and its final increase is about 11 percent. Montana also has two and is up about 23 percent.

Exits do not predict it either. Ten of my states are losing at least one insurer for 2027. Iowa and Arkansas are among them and still have the smallest increases. Oklahoma is losing two and is up more than 21 percent. My insurers leaving the Marketplace page covers those 10 states.

The practical point: your state's insurer count tells you how much choice you have, not how much prices will rise.

Small-group plans are rising too

Twenty-nine of my states reported a small-group average. Those averages come to about 13.4 percent, a little under the individual market. But in about a dozen states, small-group plans are rising faster than individual plans. A few stand out:

• Ohio: small group up about 22 percent, against 16.3 percent for individual plans.
• Illinois: about 17.6 percent small group, against about 14 percent individual.
• North Carolina: about 19.3 percent small group, against 14 percent individual.
• Delaware and Montana: about 18 percent small group.

The opposite also happens. South Carolina's small-group average is 8.9 percent while its individual market is up 22.1 percent.

If you own a small business, that gap matters. When group renewals rise faster than individual rates, an individual coverage HRA or a QSEHRA, which reimburse employees for their own plans, can be worth comparing against the group renewal.

State exchanges set their own dates

Seven of my states run their own exchange platform: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada and Virginia. Arkansas runs a state-based exchange on the federal platform. Exchanges with their own platform set their own enrollment calendars, so the HealthCare.gov dates may not apply. If you live in one of these states, check your exchange's deadlines before you plan around the federal ones.

All numbers are now final

Rates are now final in all 31 of my states. Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming were the last to finalize in early November, and West Virginia's average came in lower than proposed. In 14 states, the two main trackers give slightly different figures, usually because they weight insurers differently. Where that happens, I show the range.

Out-of-pocket limits are rising as well

Premiums are not the only number going up. The federal cap on out-of-pocket costs for ACA plans rises to $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family in 2027, from $10,600 and $21,200 in 2026. That is about a 13 percent increase in the most a household could owe for covered care in a year, before counting premiums.

What this means if you buy your own coverage

Here is what I take from the filings:

1. Do not auto-renew. With averages this high and plans this varied, the plan you had in 2026 is unlikely to still be your strongest option in 2027.
2. Recheck the subsidy line. For 2027, the credit stops at 400 percent of the federal poverty level, $63,840 for one person and $86,560 for two. Just over the line, you pay the entire increase.
3. Compare across metal levels. A large increase on one tier can make another tier a better value. My bronze, silver and gold guide explains the trade-offs.
4. If you are healthy and above the line, price a private plan. Private, medically underwritten plans are priced on age, ZIP code and health rather than income, so they are not tied to Marketplace rate filings. Approval depends on your health answers, and if approved, coverage can start on the first of a month you choose.
5. Use the December 15 deadline. On HealthCare.gov, choose by December 15, 2026 for a January 1 start. Open enrollment ends January 15, 2027.

How I put these notes together

I built these notes only from the figures in my state rate tables, which draw on healthinsurance.org's 2027 rate tracker, ACASignups.net's state posts and state insurance department approvals. I used the higher tracker figure for the averages to avoid understating the increase. I did not include individual client stories or quotes. I updated the page once the last three states finalized.

Let me price your 2027 options

Send me your ZIP code, the ages in your household, a rough income range and your doctors. I will compare your renewal against other Marketplace plans and, if it fits, private plans. There is no fee for my help. Get a quote or call (786) 218-2384. I am based in Tampa, Florida, and work by phone and video across all 31 states, from Alabama to Wisconsin.