Michigan Insurers Approved 14.2% Rate Hikes as Enrollees Drop

Michigan state regulators approved average premium increases of 14.2% for individual health insurance plans ahead of the November 1 open enrollment start. The approval covers plans sold on the Affordable Care Act marketplace and the state’s individual market. Small group plans, which serve businesses with fewer than 51 employees, will see an average increase of 9.6%.

The rate hikes come as coverage in the state has contracted sharply. Roughly 130,000 fewer residents are purchasing individual coverage through the federal marketplace for 2027. This represents a 27% drop in enrollment, a figure more than double the 12% decline seen across the United States this year. Neighboring states experienced similar pressure, with Ohio losing 32% of its enrollees and Indiana seeing an 28% drop.

Insurers are also pulling out of the market. Seven companies will offer ACA coverage in Michigan next year, the same number as this year but down from 15 in 2016. Meridian Health Plan of Michigan made the largest exit, leaving the Metro Detroit market. The insurer reported 156,012 individual market enrollees in its 2026 filing and only 18,938 in its 2027 filing. Ambetter from Meridian, the company’s marketplace brand, will return to Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Monroe counties in 2027 and add Bay County.

Employers are feeling the financial strain as well. KFF data shows the average worker contributed $7,471 toward family coverage this year, a 9% jump from 2025. Marsh, a consulting firm, forecasts that employer-sponsored costs will rise between 8% and 11% next year. Bret Jackson, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan that the affordability crisis is real and loss of coverage is accelerating quickly. Leaders of the Small Business Association of Michigan described employers as being crushed by these rising costs.

The University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation, or CHRT, attributes the trend to the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies, federal rule changes, and new provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In a policy brief published this month, the center stated that these factors narrow eligibility, shorten the enrollment window, and add paperwork requirements for tax credits. The state’s 143 marketplace plans for 2027 are up from 116 this year but down from 231 in 2023.

Public comments to the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services revealed universal opposition to the rate hikes. Seniors, doctors, and insurance brokers told regulators that premiums are outpacing inflation. One commenter, who spends $2,500 a month on family coverage, said the increases will force them to drop coverage completely. Another said they would stop buying marketplace insurance and work less to qualify for Medicaid.

The state’s uninsured rate is rising. Census data indicates that 5.5% of Michigan’s population lacks healthcare coverage. While this is below the national rate of 8.4%, the state’s levels are returning to figures not seen since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.