With the 2026 ACA Open Enrollment Period officially starting on November 1st, and with millions of ACA enrollees being bombarded with scary letters from their insurance carriers and headlines warning of massive premium hikes, residents of six states* (as of this writing) can already enter their own household information to find out how much their net health insurance premiums are going to increase starting January 1st, 2026:
Health Carriers Propose Affordable Care Act Premium Rates for 2026
Anticipated loss of federal enhanced premium tax credits leads to highest individual market rate increases proposed since the start of Maryland’s reinsurance program
BALTIMORE – The Maryland Insurance Administration has received the 2026 proposed premium rates for Affordable Care Act products offered by health and dental carriers in the individual, non-Medigap and small group markets, which impact approximately 502,000 Marylanders.
Maryland Insurance Administration Approves 2026 Affordable Care Act Premium Rates
Despite increases, Maryland remains a national leader in affordable rates; new state subsidy to offset loss of enhanced federal tax credits
BALTIMORE – Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant today announced the premium rates approved by the Maryland Insurance Administration for individual and small group health insurance plans offered in the state for coverage beginning January 1, 2026.
Maryland has around 247,000 residents enrolled in ACA exchange plans, 76% of whom are currently subsidized. I estimate they also have another ~73,000 unsubsidized off-exchange enrollees.
With the pending dire threat to several of these programs (primarily Medicaid & the ACA) from the House Republican Budget Proposal which recently passed, I'm going a step further and am generating pie charts which visualize just how much of every Congressional District's total population is at risk of losing healthcare coverage.
USE THE DROP-DOWN MENU ABOVE TO FIND YOUR STATE & DISTRICT.
BALTIMORE (June 3, 2025) – The federal budget reconciliation bill passed by the House earlier this month will have significant consequences for the Affordable Care Act in Maryland, if it becomes law as is. For the nearly 250,000 Marylanders who buy health insurance through Maryland Health Connection this bill will increase premium costs, and create unnecessary, inefficient barriers to enrollment.
“For many of those enrolled in Maryland Health Connection, this proposed bill will drive up prices and increase the barriers to quality health insurance,” said Michele Eberle, executive director of Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “Maryland Health Connection has increased enrollment by 40% in the last four years, because people who know how important health insurance is have found it affordable.”
For over a decade, State-Based Marketplaces have provided private health coverage to tens of millions of Americans, ensuring their health, well-being, and economic security. The Americans who depend on the Marketplaces include working parents, small business owners, farmers, gig workers, early retirees, and lower and middle-class individuals of all ages, political views, and backgrounds who drive our local economies and make both our rural and urban communities thrive.
The legislation under consideration in the House will severely impact the ability of these millions of Americans to continue to access this coverage and the health and financial security they depend on today. This will make for a sicker, less financially secure American public and strain hospitals and health care providers by increasing uncompensated care.
Enrollment increased by 16% over last year – seventh annual increase in a row.
BALTIMORE (Jan. 17, 2025) – Nearly a quarter-million Marylanders enrolled for 2025 through Maryland Health Connection – a new record for the state-based health insurance marketplace.
A total of 247,243 enrolled during the open enrollment period that began Nov. 1, 2024 and ended Wednesday. That was up 16% from 213,895 enrollments one year ago. An additional roughly 150 people who were in line with the Maryland Health Connection call center at midnight Wednesday may be in the process of completing their enrollments this week.
This marked the seventh consecutive year of enrollment increases in the health insurance marketplace that Maryland established in 2013 following the passage of the Affordable Care
Act. Total enrollment is up 56% since the pandemic.
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange hasn't released any press releases since Oct. 31st, so the only official 2025 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) data I have for the state is from this snapshot report issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) back on Dec. 4th, which placed Maryland enrollment at just 30,270 people as of Nov. 23rd...plus another 185,438 current enrollees who were categorized as having been automatically re-enrolled, for a total of 215,708 QHP selections as of early December.
By comparison, by the end of the 2024 OEP, Maryland reported a total of 213,895 QHP selections, so it certainly looks like the Old Line State is running ahead of last year.
With that in mind, this article from WTOP News sounds about right, although the exact phrasing of some of the numbers make it a little confusing:
BALTIMORE (Oct. 31, 2024) – Marylanders can enroll in low cost health plans for 2025 on MarylandHealthConnection.gov, the state’s health insurance marketplace. It’s the only place that offers tax credits to bring down the cost of the monthly premium.
Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1, 2024, through Jan. 15, 2025. Coverage starts Jan. 1, 2025, for plans selected by Dec. 31, and coverage starts on Feb. 1, 2025, for plans selected the first two weeks of January. This open enrollment period is for private plans only. Those who qualify for Medicaid may enroll any time of year.
“More Marylanders than ever are enrolled in health plans through Maryland Health Connection.” said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “This past year, people who got private health insurance saved an average of $388 a month on their monthly premium.”
