Georgia woman drops health insurance after monthly premium jumps from $700 to $2,900

A Georgia woman dropped her health insurance after facing a monthly premium of $2,900, more than four times the $700 she paid in 2025. Her story is part of an alarming trend in the state.

Here's what to know

WSB-TV Channel 2 reported that DeKalb County resident Rosalyn Barnes had skipped medical appointments since dropping coverage, putting her health at risk. She's one of many making the same calculation.

Georgia Access, the state's Affordable Care Act marketplace, covered 1.3 million people in 2025. Enrollment is projected to drop to 816,000 in 2027, according to the outlet. It added the marketplace would lose 37% of its enrollees, or 474,000 people, over those two years.

The program's premiums rose in 2026 after enhanced federal subsidies that reduced consumers' costs expired. State insurance and fire safety commissioner data cited by Channel 2 put the average increase for 2027 at $157 a month, similar to the 2026 rise.

For locals such as Barnes, that was forcing some hard decisions. She told Channel 2 that she suspected a typing or reading error when she checked her renewal cost. She had paid $700 a month in 2025.

"I would be paying $2,900 a month, and insurance would cover nothing until I spent $19,000," she said.

More background

Channel 2 reported that Medicare plans in Georgia are getting more expensive, while costs for employer-sponsored coverage are rising about 8.2%.

Georgia insurance agent Callie Navrides estimated that 50% to 60% of her clients dropped their insurance during 2026. Clients had given up coverage because of the cost, she told the station.

June self-pay and uninsured emergency visits exceeded the June 2025 total by 29.9%. Beyond the risks to patients, Channel 2 noted hospitals can be left covering bills that people cannot afford to pay, putting additional financial pressure on the health care system.

"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," the Georgia Hospital Association wrote in a statement.

What's being done?

Keisha Waites, Georgia's insurance commissioner, pointed to increased competition as one way to address rising costs.

"Healthy competition drives the market," Waites told Channel 2. "And so it is our hope to bring in more providers and more insurance in the state of Georgia." 

Waites also expressed confidence that Georgia Access can be improved, even as the program is shedding subscribers.

For Barnes, who works in contract corporate writing and is developing a pet business, this year's available coverage was "untenable," she told Channel 2.

On managing her medical care without insurance, she added, "It's a hope and a prayer."

Where can I learn more?

Georgia residents aren't the only ones struggling to afford health insurance. 

• Massachusetts Health Connector users face double-digit hikes and dropped plans as enrollment opens.

• Starbucks workers say soaring health insurance premiums are pushing some to drop coverage.

• U.S. federal retirees face $10,000 family coverage premiums, prompting some to consider ACA subsidies.

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