Maryland regulators have approved 2027 health plan rates that leave a 40-year-old in the Baltimore area paying $9 to $89 more a month for the lowest-cost off-exchange, unsubsidized silver plan, the Maryland Insurance Administration said in its Sept. 25 rate announcement. Across the state, unsubsidized individual plans will rise an average of 14.6% in 2027.

The increase lands hardest on people who buy their own coverage without any tax credit. Those who get financial help may see a very different bill, and the state says that gap matters more than the headline average.

What the $9 to $89 range measures

The range comes from a sample table in the state’s release. It tracks the lowest-cost silver plan sold outside the state marketplace by each of five carriers, priced for a 40-year-old in the Baltimore metro area with no subsidy. The insurance administration says rate changes for those plans range from 2.6% to 19.2%.

At the low end, Optimum Choice, a UnitedHealthcare company, rises $9 a month, or 2.6%. At the other end, Wellpoint Maryland rises $84 a month, or 19.2%. Over a full year, the spread works out to roughly $108 on the mildest increase and as much as $1,068 on the steepest.

The table covers one age and one region. An older shopper, or one in another part of the state, will see different dollar amounts, because premiums depend on age and where a person lives. The state has not published a single figure that fits everyone.

That leaves a clear dividing line, and a decision for each household. A shopper with a subsidy should look at what is left after the credit. A shopper without one, such as a retiree with income above the cutoffs or someone buying off the marketplace, pays the approved rate as filed, and has until the end of open enrollment to compare plans before that rate sticks.

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Who pays the full increase and who does not

Marylanders who qualify for a federal tax credit or a state subsidy will see lower premiums, according to the insurance administration. Marie Grant, the state’s insurance commissioner, said the approved increase “does not necessarily translate into an increase in what they pay” for residents who get financial assistance. About 70% of Maryland Health Connection users and 55% of everyone in the individual market receive a premium subsidy.

Maryland also created its own premium assistance program for residents with household incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level. The state describes it as a way to replace part of the federal help that expired. The state says the amount depends on several factors, and the release does not give a dollar figure.

Where Maryland sits next to other states

Maryland’s 14.6% average is lower than in several states that have announced 2027 rates. Washington’s insurance commissioner approved an average increase of 22.2% for 2027, and the state said carriers had asked for 22.4%. Connecticut approved an average 11.3% increase in its individual market, down from the 16.2% requested.

Maryland has a cushion those states lack in the same form. Its state-backed reinsurance program, approved by federal officials through 2028 under a Section 1332 waiver, keeps rates 30% to 35% lower than they would otherwise be, the insurance administration says. The agency adds that the approved 2027 individual rates are comparable to rates before the waiver, in 2018.

Even so, enrollment is slipping. About 274,000 people are covered in the individual market, down from 294,000. The insurance administration says the drop is mostly due to immigrants losing subsidy eligibility under H.R. 1, the federal law.

The reinsurance program works behind the scenes. It does not show up as a discount on any one bill, but the insurance administration credits it for holding the whole market down. Without it, the same plans would carry much higher rates, and the dollar gaps in the Baltimore table would be larger.

How a Maryland shopper can compare silver plans

The question for most unsubsidized households is which plan to hold for 2027, and the answer turns on more than the monthly premium. The insurance administration urged residents to read their renewal notices and compare plans during open enrollment. It also pointed shoppers to Maryland Health Connection, the state marketplace, and to trusted advisors who can run the numbers.

A carrier with a 2.6% increase and one with a 19.2% increase can start from very different prices, so the percentage alone does not show which plan costs less. The state’s rate summaries and sample premiums, posted at HealthRates.mdinsurance.state.md.us, let shoppers look up a specific age and county.

For anyone paying the full price, the 2027 approval is also a reminder to price the choices side by side. A plan that costs $89 more a month adds $1,068 over the year, and that sum comes out of the same budget as groceries, property tax and prescriptions.

The release also covers other lines. Small group premiums will rise an average of 10.2%, nearly three points below the 13.1% carriers requested. Stand-alone dental plans in the individual market will rise an average of 3.0%, compared with the 6.5% initially filed. About 103,000 individual-market members, or 38% of that market, carry stand-alone dental, so that line is a second bill for many households.

Is the full premium the right plan for 2027?

A health premium that rises $9 to $89 a month is one more leak in a retirement budget, and the unsubsidized shopper in Maryland has no tax credit to soften it. The marketplace comparison is the first fix. The money that escapes elsewhere, in taxes, Medicare costs and house costs, is the second.

The Keep-It Starter Bundle puts nine guides in one download, one per money leak. It includes how to cut the tax bill: the senior deduction, RMDs, QCDs and the Roth window, and a guide on trimming Medicare costs, all in 95 pages. It does not choose a health plan; that comparison belongs on Maryland Health Connection.

Get the nine-guide bundle to offset the 2027 Maryland premium jump →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.