OBAMACARE SAVANNAH

Georgia health insurance exchange More competition across Georgia Share this: By Carla Anderson

• healthinsurance.org contributor
• October 6, 2014

Georgia will have nearly double the number of insurers selling policies through HealthCare.gov in 2015 as it did in 2014. In addition, three companies — as opposed to one last year — will sell policies statewide.

More choices for consumers Nine insurers are participating in the Georgia health insurance marketplace for 2015, including four who are new to the exchange this year. The returning companies are Alliant Health Plans, Blue Cross, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and Peach State Health Plans. The new entrants to the marketplace are Cigna, Coventry, UnitedHealthcare, and Time Insurance.

If you bought a marketplace plan last year, you may have heard that your policy will automatically renew for 2015. Even if you qualify for auto-renewal, it makes sense to visit HealthCare.gov and check out your options for 2015. With new insurers entering the market, returning insurers changing their plans and prices, and the possibility that you’ll qualify for a different subsidy amount in 2015, you may find a new plan is a better fit.

2015 premium outlook According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, premium changes in Georgia for 2015 will range from 7.1 percent lower to 18.3 percent higher. On average, premiums will increase 3.7 percent. The figures are for plans sold both on and outside the exchange.

Given that southern Georgia had some of the highest premium costs in the nation for 2014, the modest average increase is welcome news for the second year of Obamacare.

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