Georgia Open Enrollment 2027: Georgia Access Dates, the October Notice, and What Carriers Filed

If the last time you shopped for coverage you did it on HealthCare.gov, the first surprise this fall is the website. Georgia moved to a state-run exchange for 2025 coverage, and the notice that shows up in October comes from Georgia Access, not the federal Marketplace. Here is how the 2027 season works, what that notice will do if you ignore it, and what the carriers have asked the state to approve.

Georgia runs its own Marketplace now

Georgia Access launched for the 2025 plan year and is a division of the state Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. It handles the application, the premium tax credit, and renewals for every Georgia household that used to go through HealthCare.gov. You can enroll three ways: directly on the Georgia Access portal, through a certified agent, or through an approved enrollment partner, and Georgia is unusual among state exchanges in letting those partners complete the enrollment end to end. In practice that means a licensed Georgia broker can quote every plan in your county, compare it against private options, and submit the Georgia Access application for you without a second website. The Georgia Access contact center is 888-687-1503 if you want to confirm anything directly with the state.

The 2027 Georgia Access calendar

• October 2026: renewal notices go out, and Georgia Access queues your automatic re-enrollment.
• November 1, 2026: open enrollment begins. Every 2027 plan in your county is visible and priced.
• December 15, 2026: the last day to enroll or change plans for a January 1, 2027 start. For the 2026 season Georgia Access started coverage January 1 for anyone enrolled by December 15, and February 1 for anyone who enrolled between December 16 and January 15. The 2027 season follows the same rule.
• January 15, 2027: open enrollment ends. After this you need a qualifying life event.

The October notice, and what auto-renewal actually does

Georgia Access re-enrolls you in your current plan for 2027 unless you opt out or choose a different one. That sounds convenient, and for some households it is. But three things ride along with it. The premium in the notice is next year's full rate for your current plan. The credit estimate is built on the income you reported for 2026, so if your business had a better or worse year, the estimate is wrong in one direction or the other. And if your plan is being discontinued, the state maps you to the closest replacement it can find, which is not the same thing as the best plan for you.

The context matters here. Georgia's Marketplace signups fell from roughly 1.5 million for 2025 to about 1.32 million for 2026, and paid enrollment slid to around 950,000 by April 2026 as the enhanced federal credits expired and premiums rose. Many of the people who dropped coverage were auto-renewed into a plan they could no longer afford and never saw the cheaper alternatives. Georgia does run a reinsurance program that has held premiums lower for full-price buyers since 2022, but it does not replace shopping.

What carriers filed for 2027

Weighted by enrollment the average request is 20.7%, filed with the state in July 2026. Final approved rates can come in lower, and the Office of Commissioner of Insurance reviews every filing before it takes effect. For scale, Georgia's final 2026 increase was 34.6%, and the state's own analysis suggested it would have been closer to 13.6% had the enhanced federal credits continued. A full-price household that stays put for 2027 is absorbing both years back to back.

Cigna out, Antidote in

Cigna is exiting the individual market in every state at the end of 2026, which affects roughly 35,000 Georgia members. Aetna already left for 2026. One new name arrives: Antidote Health of Georgia joins the exchange for 2027. The continuing carriers are Alliant, Ambetter from Peach State Health Plan, Anthem, CareSource, Kaiser Permanente, Oscar, and UnitedHealthcare, so Georgia keeps eight carriers, though the number available in any single county is smaller. Kaiser's plans are built around its own metro Atlanta medical centers, and several rural counties see only two or three carriers. If you are a Cigna member, the mapped plan in your October notice is the state's guess. Check it against the whole list.

A November checklist for Georgia households

1. Pin down 2027 income. The premium tax credit ends at 400% of the poverty line, about $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four. Which side of that line you land on decides whether the Marketplace or a private plan is the cheaper lane.
2. Know the Pathways gap. Georgia did not fully expand Medicaid. Pathways covers adults up to 100% of the poverty line with a work or activity requirement, and fewer than 18,000 people were enrolled as of May 2026. If your income falls below 100% of the poverty line, Georgia Access cannot give you a credit, so check Pathways eligibility first.
3. Compare the mapped plan against the county list. Update your income and household on Georgia Access, then look at every carrier, not just the one the notice chose. Confirm your doctors and hospital, then read the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum before the premium.
4. Healthy and paying full price? Get a medically underwritten quote the same week. It does not take a credit and it is not guaranteed issue, but for a healthy household above the line it often beats an unsubsidized Marketplace plan by a wide margin.
5. Enroll by December 15 and confirm the January 1, 2027 effective date, then pay the first premium so the plan is actually in force.

After the window closes

From January 16 on, Georgia Access only opens for a qualifying life event, with a 60-day special enrollment period for things like losing other coverage, a move into Georgia, a marriage, or a birth. The private lanes stay open year-round for healthy applicants: underwritten plans in any month, and short-term coverage to bridge to the next window. Neither accepts a credit and neither is guaranteed issue, so the cheapest option is still not missing December 15.

If you want one licensed Georgia broker to read the October notice with you, pull the full Georgia Access list for your county, and price the underwritten alternative in the same conversation, start with our Georgia health insurance guide or the short form on our individuals page. One call, real numbers, and your information is never sold.

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