RALEIGH – North Carolina’s Department of Insurance released approved 2027 Affordable Care Act health insurance rates Friday, with insurer-level average increases ranging from 8.35% to 27.36% in the individual market and from 18.78% to 19.54% for small-group coverage.
The department’s final schedules say its review of the filings is complete and the approved rates take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The documents describe approved changes, rather than the companies’ initial requests. They do not provide the exact date each approval was issued.
For individual coverage, the approved annualized average increases are 8.35% for Ambetter, 9.93% for AmeriHealth Caritas, 15.82% for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, 16.48% for Oscar Health Plan of North Carolina and 27.36% for UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina.
The separate small-group schedule lists a 19.54% increase for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, 18.78% for UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. and 19.48% for UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina. The two UnitedHealthcare entries are separately identified companies in the department’s table.
Those percentages are annualized averages for the insurers’ filings. They should not be read as an identical increase for every enrollee or as a calculation of what any particular household will pay. The tables distinguish the individual and small-group insurance markets rather than combining them into one statewide percentage.
The department’s explanation of its review says rates must not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory and must be reasonable in relation to the benefits provided. Public portions of insurers’ filings can be requested from the department; information classified as a trade secret is subject to disclosure limits.
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage begins Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15, according to the department. People enrolling by Dec. 15 are scheduled to have coverage start Jan. 1; those enrolling after that deadline will have coverage start Feb. 1.
The department directs consumers with insurance questions to its Consumer Services Division at 855-408-1212, available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sources
- NC Department of Insurance, Oct. 30, 2026
- Final approved 2027 individual-market rates
- Approved 2027 small-group rates
Photo Credit: File photograph of a stethoscope on an appointment form, December 2014, by DarkoStojanovic, via Wikimedia Commons; CC0 1.0 public-domain dedication. Cropped and resized. General health-care context, not a North Carolina patient, insurer or current event.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.