Health insurance changes coming to Georgia

ATLANTA - Healthcare advocates warned Thursday that Georgia residents who have to find their own insurance in the government marketplace should expect significant rate increases next year.

Insurance companies are filing rate increase requests with regulators, arguing that federal budget cuts and the end of COVID-19 tax credits are the main drivers, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Families USA.

"These are individual workers and working families who simply don't get coverage on the job or through public programs like Medicaid or Medicare," Wright said.

Wright said affected workers include retail and restaurant employees, ridehail and food-delivery drivers, beauticians, barbers, plumbers and other self-employed workers.

Georgia's government marketplace is called Georgia Access. The state also offers Pathways to Coverage for those nearer the poverty level.

The group KFF calculates that a half million Georgians could lose coverage. Another group, Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF), puts that number at 340,000, estimating an average rate increase of 75%. (The smaller figure is attributed to the expiration of the tax credits alone. The larger figure includes tax credits and budget cuts.)

"If costs soar and coverage slips away, the consequences will ripple through every part of our state at almost every income level," said Whitney Griggs, health policy director for GHF.

Georgia's Office of Insurance was not immediately available to clarify the numbers, but it will not be long before insurance shoppers see the result, with enrollment for 2026 likely to start around November.