Benchmark $615/mo · +34.6% approved · Georgia Access
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old copywriter in Georgia faces a benchmark premium of $615/month for 2026, up from $493 in 2025. That is 2% below the national benchmark of $625. Carriers were approved for an average increase of +34.6%.
Georgia runs its own exchange, Georgia Access, rather than healthcare.gov. CMS therefore excludes it from the Qualified Health Plan Landscape file that powers most of this site, so there is no public plan-by-county premium table for Georgia the way there is for Florida or Texas. What you get instead — approved rate changes, carrier concentration and the benchmark series — comes straight from state filings, and in some ways says more, because these are rates a regulator actually approved rather than rates an insurer filed.
Georgia moved off healthcare.gov to its own exchange, Georgia Access, for plan year 2025 — the newest full transition of any state here. It also posted the largest approved rate increase of the six, at 34.6%.
| Georgia — 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2026) | $615 |
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2025) | $493 |
| Year-over-year change | +24.7% |
| Approved average rate increase | +34.6% |
| Versus the national benchmark ($625) | -2% |
| Rank among your 21 licensed states | 11 of 21 |
| Counties | 159 |
| Carriers on the exchange | 8 |
| Exchange | Georgia Access (state-run since 2025) |
Ambetter (Peach State), Alliant, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, CareSource, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, Oscar.
Alliant is the state’s only PPO carrier on the exchange. Atlanta-area counties such as Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett have five to seven carriers; rural south Georgia counties often have one or two, with Ambetter dominant.
Sources: Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance 2026 rate filings; Georgia Access. KFF, “Marketplace Average Benchmark Premiums,” 2026. Benchmark is the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for a 40-year-old, weighted by plan selections.
Low claim volume and a younger buyer usually favor a high-deductible plan paired with an HSA.
Occupational context: Repetitive stress injury and eye strain from sustained typing.
None of that changes your price. Plans in Georgia are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Occupation cannot be used to rate, decline or exclude you.
Ranked on the benchmark premium, the one measure published on the same basis for every state. Cheaper: South Carolina ($564), Oklahoma ($604), Wisconsin ($611). More expensive: North Carolina ($638), Utah ($640), Alabama ($645).
You buy where you live, not where you work, so treat this as context rather than a shopping list. A genuine move does open a special enrollment period.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Software, home office, research subscriptions. Health premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or a spouse. The deduction lowers your AGI, and AGI sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other — worth raising with your CPA before you enroll rather than after.
8 carriers offer individual plans on Georgia Access for 2026: Ambetter (Peach State), Alliant, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, CareSource, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, Oscar. Availability varies by county.
The 2026 benchmark premium in Georgia is $615 per month for a 40-year-old, up from $493 in 2025. That is full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
Carriers in Georgia were approved for an average increase of 34.6%. Filings across the country cited the expiry of the enhanced federal premium tax credits at the end of 2025, rising medical and drug costs, and expectations that healthier people would drop coverage.
No. Exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated. Price varies only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size. Occupation is not a rating factor.
No. Georgia runs its own exchange, Georgia Access, state-operated since 2025. You enrolll there rather than on healthcare.gov.
This page compares states. For Georgia specifically — county-level carriers and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Copywriters in Georgia and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.