Affordable health insurance in Georgia

Most people get health insurance in Georgia from their place of employment, but people who don’t as well as the self-employed need to find other options. 

If you are looking for cheap health insurance in Georgia, the first place you should look is the State Marketplace. The health insurance marketplace in Georgia can be accessed through healthcare.gov. That said, there are other families and individual insurance plans that you can opt for.  You can also take a look at our list of the best health insurance companies to get an even more detailed overview of the best providers in the USA.

List of Providers and Plans

In our comprehensive guide on cheap health insurance in Georgia, we’ll be looking at the plans of top health insurance providers in Georgia and the coverage options in detail:

Alliant

In 67 out of 159 (or 43%) counties of Georgia, Alliant has the cheapest insurance plans. The plans for family and individuals include Bronze PPO, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. 

The Georgia health insurance plans have different monthly premium options and benefit levels as follows:

•         Platinum PPO plans include the emergency room, urgent care, and cheap co-pays on doctor visits.
•         Gold PPO plans have affordable copayments and deductibles.
•         Silver PPO plans have affordable premiums but higher copayments and deductibles.
•       Bronze plans have affordable deductibles.

Ambetter

Ambetter has the cheapest Silver plans in 54 counties in Georgia after Alliant. They have Gold, Silver, and Bronze plans for health insurance. Here are some details:

•         Gold plans feature higher premium rates but lowered out-of-pockets expenses.
•         Silver Balanced Care plans have mid-level premium payments and out-of-pocket expenses.
•         Bronze Essential Care plans have the lowest premium costs but the highest out-of-pocket expenses.

Anthem BlueCross BlueShield

The Anthem BlueCross BlueShield provides customers with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It gives Americans access to cheap health insurance in Georgia and other US states. 

ACA gives financial assistance that reduces health care expenses monthly based on annual income. It gives a variety of benefits, including a catastrophic plan with low monthly payments and high deductibles in case of health crises.

Caresource

Caresource health plans offer medical services for families including prescription drugs, hospital services, and doctor visits. There are plenty of extra benefits that you can take advantage of. 

Caresource has partnered up with Medicaid to make sure that you will receive cheap services but can charge you extra for services that aren’t covered under the Medicaid plan.

Caresource provides Medicaid coverage options such as co-payment. Most co-payments are under set amounts as well as cost-based. The cost-based payment amounts are determined by the service costs. 

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente has family and individual health insurance plans in Georgia for students, recent graduates, self-employed, between jobs, part-time employees, and early retirees. Here are the benefits for health insurance members:

•         Control over health decisions
•         Protection for routine preventive care
•         Special services with online services
•         Products targeted especially for individuals, employers, and people eligible for Medicare
•         Care options like prenatal, immunizations, emergency care, pharmacy, and screening diagnostics

The integrated system of health care ensures that you have ample access to pharmacists, nurses, doctors, and other professionals.

Oscar

In Georgia, the health insurance company Oscar features Gold, Silver, and Bronze health plans.

•         Gold Classic is a high-level benefit plan with affordable deductibles of up to $1,700 and $25 PCP visits. It is a good plan for people who are anticipating regular doctor visits and want to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses.
•         Silver plans have affordable premiums with benefits such as primary care as well as co-payments for doctor visits, urgent care, and prescriptions. There are 4 Silver plans that you can choose from.
•         Bronze plans have the lowest premiums but offer co-payment options for mental health, primary care, and urgent care. There are 4 Bronze plans to choose from.
•         Simple Secure plan gives families and individuals affordable healthcare with up to $8,150 deductibles that cover almost all services except office visits for pregnancy and routine annual examinations.

Cheapest Health Insurance Plan by County in Georgia

How cheap is the health insurance in Georgia also depends on where you live. Among all the counties, Haralson and Heard have the most expensive insurance plans. 

Even their cheapest health insurance plan in Georgia, Ambetter Balanced Care 11, costs around $1,478 for couples over 40 with kids, $1,137 for couples aged 40 without kids, and $569 for individuals under 40.

The following six counties have the most affordable health insurance options in Georgia:

1.   Brantley
2.   Camden
3.   Charlton
4.   Glynn
5.   Mcintosh
6.   Wayne

CareSource Low Premium Silver Marketplace plan provides the cheapest health insurance in the 6  Georgia counties above. The rates apply $1,081 for couples over 40 with kids, $832 for couples aged 40 years, and $416 for individuals under 40 of age.

Average Cost of Health Insurance by Family Size in Georgia

The average cost of health insurance in Georgia can also depend on the size of your family. If you want each person to be covered under the same plan, it will definitely increase the average cost for the month. Some factors like their age will be kept in mind, so children are priced at flat rates until 15 years of age.

Here is a breakdown of how family size can impact your health insurance quotes in Georgia:

Family Size	Average Monthly Costs
Individual with one child	$842
Couple aged 40	$1,054
Couple with a child (Family of three)	$1,369
Couple with two children (Family of four)	$1,685
Family of Five	$2,000

 

Georgia Health Insurance Guide and Resources

There are many types of health insurance that you can get for yourself and your family. Here, we will explore how health insurance plans are divided in Georgia.

Employer Health Insurance

There aren’t any laws in Georgia that require employers to provide healthcare insurance for their employees. A lot of employers still purchase group insurance plans for their employees. When insurance is provided by employers, they need to adhere to the state laws. Certain benefits such as mandated benefits should be provided as well as options for employees to continue receiving the group healthcare coverage even if they leave the group under some circumstances.

There are also self-insurance exceptions that you should consider since employers are not required to regulate them.

Private Insurance Plans

There are many options for private health insurance in Georgia that you can benefit from. Individuals or families seeking plans should make sure to research properly and check the marketplace properly before purchasing. 

Your healthcare plan can depend on factors such as gender, age, location, income, family size, and pre-existing conditions. As we learned above, there are many companies that offer health insurance in Georgia at affordable rates. You can select any plan you prefer according to your needs.

Government-Assisted Plans

The ACA, better known as Obamacare, expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage so that more individuals would be covered under health insurance plans.

The Medicare program gives coverage to seniors over 60 years of age and individuals with disabilities under the age of 65 years. Legal permanent residence is required for at least 5 years or American citizenship to become eligible for the benefits under Medicare plans. 

Currently, there are 1,765,292 people enrolled in the Medicare program, which is less than 16% of the total population. This is less than the national average of 19% enrollment.

There are also private companies that have established contracts with Medicare. You can take Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plans in the state of Georgia. All plans under the Medicare plan aren’t available in every county in the state. 

Insurance companies also have to renew the contracts each year with Medicare, so you should make sure to keep updated with regulation changes. The availability of certain Medicare services can change depending on the changes in the contract.

Medicaid also includes pregnant women, children, parents, individuals with disabilities, and seniors. Some states also offer low-income coverage. In Georgia, you need to be a legal alien, permanent residence, citizen, or US national to be eligible for Medicaid.

Tips to Save On Health Insurance in Georgia

Georgia health insurance exchange is impacted by some factors that can contribute to the overall cost of health insurance. Here are some factors that health insurance companies in Georgia look out for:

• Body mass index (BMI)
• Tobacco use or smoking
• Age
• Location
• Cost-sharing reductions
• Family size or individual plans
• Pre-existing conditions
• Gender
• Insurance and medical history

FAQs