Maryland Health Premiums Jump 14.6%

Maryland residents can begin shopping for 2027 health insurance plans on Monday. The state marketplace, known as Maryland Health Connection, remains open for signups through January 15, 2027. Four insurers are offering coverage through the platform: CareFirst, Kaiser Permanente, Wellpoint, and UnitedHealthCare. Those who enroll by the end of the calendar year will have coverage starting January 1. Enrollees who wait until later will see their plans begin in February.

The cost of these plans is rising sharply. Premiums for Affordable Care Act coverage in Maryland increased by an average of 14.6% for 2027. This follows a 13.4% hike last year. These two years of double-digit increases are well above the typical 8% annual rate. The final rates for 2027 are also higher than what insurance companies initially proposed in June.

Marie Grant, the commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration, cited several factors for the price jump. She pointed to changes in H.R. 1, the Republican spending and tax law, along with rising costs for hospitalizations and pharmaceuticals. A press release from the agency noted that hospital costs are trending upward by 7.8%, professional services by 8.6%, and prescription drugs by 14.8%.

More than 250,000 Marylanders currently use the ACA marketplace. Despite the price hikes, the state still offers the lowest bronze- and gold-level premiums in the nation. Maryland also provides specific subsidies for young people and residents earning below 400% of the federal poverty level.

Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Healthcare for All!, expressed disappointment over the higher costs. He attributed the increase to decisions made by the Trump administration and Congress. DeMarco praised Governor Wes Moore and the Department of Health and Insurance Division for protecting state residents. He noted that Maryland is in a better position than many other states because it maintains a reinsurance program and state subsidy program that others lack.

Rising costs have already affected enrollment numbers. Between January and the end of March, the state saw an 8% disenrollment rate. Approximately 18,000 residents dropped their ACA plans during that period. H.R. 1 introduces new requirements for Medicaid that take effect next year, which will likely remove millions of people from those rolls.