Pennsylvania insurers are seeking to increase rates by an average of 17% in 2027, further turning up cost pressures for Pennie enrollees who have already seen their premiums jump.
These increases would affect people who don’t have access to employer-sponsored insurance and buy coverage through the commonwealth’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, called Pennie. About 430,000 Pennsylvanians are enrolled in Pennie plans, according to officials.
People insured through the ACA marketplace have already seen their monthly payments skyrocket this year with the expiration of federal tax subsidies that had made coverage more affordable. Nearly 180,000 people have dropped their plans during and after open enrollment for 2026, according to state officials.
In announcing the insurers’ proposed rates for 2027, Pennsylvania Insurance Department leaders on July 23 acknowledged the figures were “higher than we’d hoped.”
But before the 2027 rates can kick in, the department checks them to prevent “excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory” increases, according to a statement.
A coalition of healthcare advocates and unions are calling for regulators to block any cost increase.
“The proposed 17.1% average increase in monthly premiums for 2027 Pennie health insurance plans would place an unacceptable burden on Pennsylvania families,” said Antoinette Kraus, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, a member of the coalition. “If these proposed rates take effect, even more Pennsylvanians are likely to be priced out of essential health coverage and forced to make painful cuts to basic household needs.”
The coalition gathered more than 600 signatures on a petition demanding a premium freeze and delivered the document to insurance officials July 29.
How does this compare to prior years?
In 2024 and 2025, the proposed rate increases were in the single digits, but the numbers took a steep climb the next year. Here are the proposed and final average rate hikes for Pennie customers over the past several years.
- 2024 proposed: 4.2%
- 2024 final: 3.9%
- 2025 proposed: 7.9%
- 2025 final: 6%
- 2026 proposed: 19%
- 2026 final: 21.5%
What’s the next step in setting Pa. insurance rates?
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration will collect public comments on the proposed increases until Aug. 22; people can submit them to ra-in-comment@pa.gov.
Advocates have also launched a website, freezepahealthcosts.org, where they’re gathering input.
The 2026 final rates were announced in October, and consumers began paying them in January.
