The cheapest health insurance in Georgia in 2022 is either Ambetter Balanced Care 11, Ambetter Balanced Care 30 or Care Marketplace Low Premium Silver. These plans are the cheapest Silver plans in all but one of Georgia’s counties. However, depending on the county in which you live, there may be limited options for health insurance plans.

The state exchange provides access to cheap health insurance plans in Georgia, or you may qualify for Medicaid depending on your household income. To help you get started in your search for your best health plan, we analyzed all policies on the Georgia state exchange.

In addition to your chosen tier of coverage, your age is one of the most significant factors in determining health insurance prices. For instance, a 40-year-old would pay 28% more per month, on average, for the same health insurance plan than a 21-year-old in Georgia. This translates to an additional $86 per month for a Silver health plan, or an additional $110 per month for a Platinum health insurance policy.

We compared all health plans on the Georgia marketplace and identified those with the cheapest rates in each metal tier to help you determine the best policy for a given level of coverage. None of the insurers on the Georgia health insurance exchange are available in every county, so you may not have the option to choose from the policies listed below. But we recommend using them as a comparison point when reviewing the benefits, out-of-pocket costs and monthly rates of health plans.

Monthly rates of health plans

Finding your best health insurance coverage in Georgia

The best health insurance in Georgia for you will vary depending on where you live, since this determines the availability of insurers and policies. While the number of insurers available in a county varies, not all metal tiers of coverage are available in each county either. Catastrophic and Platinum health insurance plans may not be an option in your area.

Higher metal tier policies, such as Gold and Platinum health plans, are typically the best choice if you expect to have high or consistent medical expenses throughout the year. Though these health insurance plans have more expensive monthly rates, their out-of-pocket expenses, such as deductibles and copays, are much lower. So if you need to use your health insurance, you’ll have to pay less yourself before your policy provides coverage.

In contrast, Bronze and Catastrophic health insurance policies have the cheapest premiums, but the highest cost-sharing features. For young, healthy shoppers who don’t expect to use their medical coverage throughout the year, these policies offer the lowest cost. But we only recommend them if you can cover the out-of-pocket costs following an emergency.

Silver health plans are a good middle ground if you expect to have moderate health care expenses, as they balance affordable rates and cost sharing. Silver policies are also likely to be the best cheap coverage if you have a low-income household, as these health plans qualify for cost-sharing subsidies.

Short-term health insurance in Georgia

Short-term health insurance is available to purchase in Georgia. The state follows federal regulations for these types of policies, meaning they have maximum lengths of one year and can be renewed up to 36 months. Short-term health insurance can be a good option if you missed open enrollment or are currently between jobs.

The federal regulations for short-term health insurance also do not require short-term health insurance plans to cover the essential health benefits. For this reason, if you know you will require certain services, like maternity care, you should carefully choose a plan before purchasing short-term health insurance.

Best cheap health insurance companies in Georgia

There are six health insurance companies on the Georgia state exchange — but in many parts of the state, you still won’t be able to choose among insurers.

However, Ambetter has the cheapest plans in 81% (or 128) of the state’s counties. After Ambetter, Care offers the most affordable Silver plan in 30 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

Cheapest health insurance plans by county

The county you live in will determine which insurers and health plans are available to you on the Georgia marketplace, as well as your cost of coverage. For instance, the Ambetter Balanced Care 11 plan costs $373 in Lincoln County and is the most affordable Silver plan in that region. Meanwhile, the best-priced Silver plan in Carroll County costs $386 — the SoloCare Silver PPO (3 Free PCP Visits + $225 Specialty Drug Copay).

To help you find the best health insurance policy, we analyzed all plans on the exchange and identified the cheapest Silver plan in each county. Below, you can see the lowest-cost plan alongside sample monthly rates for an individual, a couple and a family of three.

Sample monthly rates

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Georgia

If you’re purchasing a health insurance policy to cover your family, each person covered by the plan will increase the cost of coverage based upon their age, though children are priced at a flat rate until they reach age 15. So, for instance, a 40-year-old couple in Georgia with two children would pay $472 more per month for a Silver health plan that covers their family of four than they would pay to cover just themselves. This is because each child costs an average of $236 to add to a Silver health insurance policy.

Health insurance rate changes in Georgia

Health plan premiums are set by individual health companies. Once an insurer has decided on rates for the upcoming year, these are sent to the Georgia health insurance exchange for approval.

In Georgia, the average cost of a Silver health plan is 25% less expensive in 2022 than it was in 2021. The cost of Gold policies decreased the least from 2021 to 2022, by 22%, or $154 per month. Catastrophic health insurance plans saw the most significant decrease in pricing — rates are 26% lower than they were in 2021, or $90 cheaper per month for the average 40-year-old.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

The rates and terms for health insurance plans referenced in this analysis were d from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) government website. ValuePenguin calculated the average cost of a policy by metal tier, family size and region by referencing data from CMS’s Public Use Files (PUF).