Health insurance costs are rising across the board in Georgia, with employer-sponsored plans climbing about 8.2%, Affordable Care Act marketplace premiums jumping sharply and Medicare plans also increasing.
At the same time, the number of Georgians enrolled in health insurance through the state’s marketplace is projected to have dropped by nearly half a million people in just two years.
The consequences of people going without insurance are already showing up in Georgia emergency rooms.
Self-pay and uninsured visits to Georgia emergency departments increased 29.9% in June 2026 compared with June 2025, according to the Georgia Hospital Association.
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For DeKalb County resident Rosalyn Barnes, going without health insurance means taking chances with her health.
“It’s a hope and a prayer,” Barnes said.
That’s how Barnes has been handling her medical care since deciding not to renew her Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance last year.
“I have skipped a lot of appointments,” she said.
In 2025, Barnes paid $700 a month for health insurance through the marketplace.
This year, when she saw what coverage would cost, she initially thought she must have mistyped or misread the numbers.
“I would be paying $2,900 a month, and insurance would cover nothing until I spent $19,000,” Barnes said.
A spreadsheet obtained by Channel 2 Action News Investigates shows Barnes is far from alone.
The average Georgia Access premium is up $157 a month for 2027, according to data provided by the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire.
That comes after a similar increase last year, when enhanced federal subsidies that had helped limit consumers’ costs expired.
Georgia’s newly elected insurance commissioner, Keisha Waites, said she believes changes can be made.
“Georgia Access is a program that I think we can fix and we can perfect,” Waites said.
But enrollment through Georgia Access is projected to decline significantly.
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The data shows enrollment falling from about 1.29 million Georgians in 2025 to approximately 816,000 projected for 2027, a decline of roughly 474,000 people, or 37%, in two years.
Georgia insurance agent Callie Navrides said she has already watched clients abandon coverage because of the cost.
“This is the second year now we’re seeing this. Last year, I would say I had about 50 to 60% of my clients drop off due to the prices of their health insurance,” Navrides said.
When people without health insurance end up in emergency rooms, hospitals can be left absorbing the cost of care that patients cannot pay for. Those costs can ultimately put additional pressure on the broader health care system.
The Georgia Hospital Association said the rapid increase in uncompensated care is creating serious financial concerns for hospitals.
“These uncompensated care costs will quickly force tough decisions for many hospitals that cannot afford to absorb them at this rate,” the association said in a statement.
Waites said increasing competition in Georgia’s insurance market will be one of the ways she hopes to address rising costs.
“Healthy competition drives the market. And so it is our hope to bring in more providers and more insurance in the state of Georgia,” Waites said.
For Barnes, who does contract corporate writing and is developing a pet business, the health insurance plans currently available to her leave her with what she considers an impossible choice.
“This year it’s just completely untenable,” she said.
For hospitals and insured Georgians, the effects may reach beyond people like Barnes who decide they simply cannot afford coverage.
The Georgia Hospital Association said in a statement:
“Georgia’s hospitals are committed to providing high-quality affordable care to their community members, but these uncompensated care costs will quickly force tough decisions for many hospitals that cannot afford to absorb them at this rate.”
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