Covered California has released their negotiated health insurance rates for 2027. The monthly premiums will increase between 5.6 percent to over 20 percent depending on health plan carrier.
2027 Rates in the Double Digits
Covered California has calculated the weighted average rate increase to be 9.9 percent across the entire state. The weighted average considers the number of enrolled members in each plan in each region.
Therefore, if you are in a health plan with a 20 percent increase, your realized monthly premium will be higher than the weighted average. Plus, if you are eligible for Premium Tax Credit subsidy, depending on the region you live in, you may not see a rate increase at all.
Average weighted percentage rate increases by carrier.
- Anthem Blue Cross, HMO and EPO, 13%
- Blue Sheild of California, HMO and PPO, 12.5%
- Balance by CCHP, HMO, 14.6%
- Health Net, HMO and PPO, 13.2%
- Inland Empire Health Plan, HMO, 5.6%
- Kaiser Permanente, HMO, 6.7%
- LA Care Health Plan, HMO, 8.1%
- Molina Healthcare, HMO, 16.9%
- Sharp Health Plan, HMO, 12.3%
- Valley Health Plan, HMO, 20.4%
- Western Health Advantage, HMO, 9.6%
Several of the carriers offer health plans throughout California, some with a mix of HMO and PPO plans. Consequently, the monthly health insurance premiums for your specific plan in your region may be higher or lower than average percentage.
Overall, for 2027 individual and family plans offered through Covered California, the average rate increase is 9.9 percent. California has 19 different rating regions. Some of the regions may only have two or three carriers offering health plans.
As usual, we see large fluctuations in the increases by region. The area with the highest average rate increase was Region 13 (Mono, Inyo, Imperial) at 14.9 percent. The average percentage is made up of all the carriers offering their PPO and HMO plans. Region, San Diego County, will have a 13.1 percent increase in health insurance rates.
The regions with more modest rate increases include Region 2 (North Bay), Region 5 (Contra Costa), Region 6 (Alameda), and Region 3 (surrounding Sacramento).
In addition, Silver 70 plans off-exchange, not through Covered California marketplace exchange, are approximately 5 percent less expensive. The Covered California announcement only applies to health plans offered by them. Not included in the rate announcement are Sutter Health Plans in Northern California or several of the off-exchange non-standard benefit design Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans not available through Covered California.
18.2% Enrollments Receive No Subsidy
For 2026, 81.8 percent of Covered California members received a subsidy. This means that the rate increases will directly impact 18.2 percent of the membership who receive no subsidy and all the consumers who are enrolled off-exchange.
Kaiser Permanente had the largest share of Covered California enrollments with 671,470 members or 37.6 percent of the total 1,785,900 Covered California lives in 2026. Blue Shield was second with 443,460 lives or 24.8 percent of the Covered California enrollments. The two carriers combined account for 62 percent of all enrollments through Covered California.
The Advance Premium Tax Cut subsidies are based on the rates for the second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP) in your zip code. If the SLCSP rate increases 10 percent, but your select plan only increases 6 percent, you get the benefit of a larger subsidy potentially erasing a measurable premium increase.
Covered California announced that CalOptima will be offering plans in Orange County (Region 18) for 2027. CalOptima is the county organized Medi-Cal HMO plan in Orange County. In addition, Molina will exit Orange County and Region 15 covering the east side of Los Angeles County.
The changes to the health plans offering plans in Regions 15 and 18 could rearrange the SLCSP health plan. These changes could increase or decrease the subsidy offered to consumers in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Covered California attributes the rate increases to
- Cost of health care
- Pharmacy expenditures
- Other industry challenges
One of the industry challenges alluded to in the Covered California announcement is declining enrollment. With the loss of expanded subsidies in 2026, many healthy consumers dropped health insurance coverage. This leaves a smaller pool of premium paying members with a higher percentage of members with health challenges. To offset fewer premium dollars, carriers are forced to increase rates to pay for expected health care claims.
Death Spiral
The declining enrollment and increasing premiums can put some carriers into what has been called a death spiral. As rates increase, health consumers leave and a smaller number of plan members left sustaining claims for ever higher health care costs.
You wonder if some carriers will continue to offer individual and family plans. Balance by Chinese Community Health Plan enrolled 3,740 plan members. Of those enrolled, 750 were unsubsidized paying the full premium amount. Balance by CCHP will have a 14.6 percent rate increase in 2027. If a significant number of their members switch carriers or drop health insurance, can Balance by CCHP survive?
Carrier Loyalty Adherence
One element of consumer behavior that works for carriers like Balance by CCHP is loyalty or adherence. Of the Covered California enrollment, Balance had 20 percent of their consumers not receiving a subsidy. In other words, Balance members were willing to pay the full premium amount rather than switch to a lower cost health plan.
Of course, for 2026, Balance had the lowest cost Bronze plan in San Francisco County. Balance was the third most expensive Silver 70 plan with Kaiser and Blue Shield HMO having lower premiums.
Other carriers with relatively high unsubsidized enrollments are Blue Shield at 23 percent, Kaiser Permanent with 19 percent, and Sharp Health Plan 23 percent. Blue Shield PPO plans have medical groups like the University of California that other carriers do not. Sharp Health Plan has some medical groups and hospitals not found in other plans. Finally, Kaiser members are very loyal to the Kaiser HMO system of health care.
By October of 2026 you will be receiving information on new health insurance premiums for 2027. If you are a Covered California member, you will be able to compare your current plan to others being offered. For consumers in Los Angeles and Orange counties enrolled in Molina, you will have to select a new plan or accept the lowest cost Silver plan Covered California enrolls you into by default.
YouTube video on 2027 health insurance rates.
