Health Insurance Costs Double For Over 1 Million Georgians

Georgians who buy health insurance through Georgia Access, Georgia’s Affordable Care Act portal, saw their 2026 premiums this week, and many are paying twice as much as last year.

What It Means For You: If you buy health insurance on your own, your monthly bill could jump by hundreds or even thousands of dollars starting in 2026. A family of four in Chatham County will pay nearly $20,000 more per year for the lowest cost plan.

Who Uses Georgia Access: While many Georgians get healthcare through their employers, they may have the perception that those on the Affordable Care Act are unemployed, which is not true. Many Georgia residents work at small companies or work part time and do not get health insurance through their employer. The checkout clerk at the grocery store, your uber driver, and your waitress may not have health insurance through their employers. Also, small business owners and self-employed people rely on the Affordable Care Act because they don’t qualify for group insurance plans.

What’s Happening: On October 1, Georgians logged into Georgia Access, the state’s health insurance marketplace, and saw their new premium costs for 2026. Most plans have more than doubled in price.

• An Anthem Bronze plan for someone making $65,000 a year costs significantly more in 2026 than in 2025, according to examples shared by Senator Raphael Warnock’s office.
• The changes affect 1.2 million Georgians who buy insurance through the marketplace.

Why Premiums Jumped: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July, cut health care tax credits that helped people afford insurance. Those credits expire for 2026 unless Congress extends them. This is the sticking point for democrats for the Government Shutdown. They want the enhanced tax credits to return and bring these insurance rates down.

The Big Picture: Georgia faces $3.7 billion in health care cuts, some of the steepest in the nation. Hospitals expect many people to drop their insurance because they can’t afford the higher premiums. When hospitals treat more uninsured patients who can’t pay their bills, rural hospitals may have to cut services or close. Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton already had to close its labor and delivery unit and may need to cut $3.3 million annually to stay open.

What Happens Next: The government is currently shut down. Senator Warnock says he won’t vote for a budget that doesn’t restore the health care funding. Republicans control Congress and decide whether the government reopens.

Meanwhile: While Georgia lawmakers and elected officials championed Georgia Access and voted it in, bear in mind that they are on the state health benefits plan, the same insurance state employees and teachers have, and do not have to buy insurance off of Georgia Access.

The Sources: Senator Raphael Warnock’s office, Georgia Access marketplace data, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute report, Evans Memorial Hospital.