Arizona health insurance companies are asking state regulators to approve an average premium increase of 25% for 2027, with six of the state's seven marketplace insurers requesting double-digit hikes on individual plans sold through the Affordable Care Act exchange. The steepest request comes from Oscar Health Plan, which wants a 33.90% increase, while only Antidote Health Plan is seeking a modest bump of roughly 3%.
The proposed rates were filed with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions in May 2026, as first reported by KJZZ. Unsealed filings reviewed by Healthinsurance.org show the requested increases ranging from 3.26% to 33.90% across the seven carriers, including Imperial Insurance Companies at 30.08%, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona at 29.59%, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona at 28.63%, Health Net Community Solutions at 27.96%, and Health Net of Arizona at 24.55%. Insurers cited a worsened risk pool in their filings as the driving factor behind the requested increases, according to the same reporting.
Why the Risk Pool Got Worse
The expiration of enhanced federal premium tax credits drove that worsened risk pool, per the filings. Those enhanced subsidies were enacted under the 2021 American Rescue Plan and extended under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act through the end of 2025, according to background compiled in filings reviewed by KFF. Nationally, insurers reported that the credits' expiration added roughly 4 percentage points directly to premium increases as healthier enrollees dropped coverage, according to KFF's Health System Tracker.
As subsidized support dropped, healthier and younger enrollees exited the market first, leaving a smaller, higher-morbidity pool that pushed up average claims costs for the insurers who remained. ACA marketplace enrollment nationwide had swelled to a record 24 million members by mid-2025 before the subsidy lapse and Medicaid unwinding triggered disenrollment and worsening pool risk, per data from AM Best.
Cigna's Exit Shrinks the Field
Compounding the pressure, Cigna announced in April 2026 that it would completely exit the individual ACA marketplace across 11 states, including Arizona, effective January 1, 2027 — a move affecting roughly 369,000 policyholders nationwide, according to Forbes. Cigna cited shrinking enrollment and a lack of long-term profitability following the sunset of the enhanced subsidies, per Apex Health Advisors. Arizona's ACA market currently includes seven insurers, and Cigna's departure leaves fewer carriers to absorb risk heading into 2027.
Arizona's proposed 25% average increase runs well above the national trend. Across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., ACA individual marketplace insurers requested a median premium increase of 15% for plan year 2027 — the second consecutive year of double-digit requested hikes nationwide, per KFF, putting Arizona's proposed average roughly 10 percentage points above the national median.
What Happened With Last Year's Rates
History suggests these initial filings may not shrink much during review. For the 2026 plan year, initial nationwide rate filings requested a median increase of 18%, but the process ultimately produced a finalized median increase of 20% once state regulators completed their review, according to Fierce Healthcare. Regulatory review does not always bring rates down, since final approved rates in 2026 ended up slightly higher than the initial requests.
The cost pressure isn't confined to individual marketplace plans, either. Small business group health plans covering employers with 50 or fewer workers face a national median proposed premium increase of 14% for 2027, driven by broader medical inflation and rising prescription drug utilization, including GLP-1 medications, according to Healthcare Dive.
What Happens Next
The Arizona filings remain under active regulatory review and are not finalized rates. The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions evaluates actuarial filings over a summer review window before posting proposed rate adjustments on RateReview.Healthcare.gov and issuing final determinations ahead of open enrollment, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. State regulators retain authority to modify the filed rates before Open Enrollment begins.
The Open Enrollment Period for 2027 individual health plans runs from November 1, 2026, through January 15, 2027, with a December 15, 2026 deadline for coverage to take effect on January 1, 2027, per Apex Health Advisors. Consumers who lose coverage because their carrier is exiting the market or because rates become unaffordable will need to select replacement plans during that window to avoid gaps in coverage.
The rate filings arrive after months of warnings about Arizona's marketplace trajectory. Last October, U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego urged Arizona insurers to warn consumers about potential premium spikes tied to the expiring federal subsidies. The rising insurance costs also land amid broader strain on Arizona household budgets, with a recent analysis finding that Arizona singles need roughly $80,000 to live comfortably — near the state's median household pay.
