The state of Georgia is giving shoppers who are looking to sign up for Affordable Care Act health plans an extra five days, or until Dec. 20, if they want coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2025.
The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, which runs the exchange at the portal GeorgiaAccess.gov, announced the new date on Thursday, saying, “Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the relative newness of Georgia Access, all led to this decision.”
This was the first year that Georgia opened its own ACA enrollment website, GeorgiaAccess.gov. Signups in the first days were marked by computers freezing and glitches, causing some people to delay signing up. The state says those issues are mostly resolved.
There were also problems beyond Georgia’s control.
About a month before open enrollment started Nov. 1, Hurricane Helene ripped through Georgia, causing historic levels of damage and disrupting utilities like phone and internet service in parts of the state. In addition, OCI officials noted in the first week of open enrollment, Georgia Access advertising was drowned out by overwhelming amounts of messaging and news for the presidential election.
Georgia started out with record ACA enrollment — about 1.3 million enrollees in 2024. If those people do nothing, the state plans to simply re-enroll them in a 2025 policy that is most similar to their 2024 policy.
The federal website that Georgians previously used to shop for an insurance plan, healthcare.gov, transferred all customer accounts over to the state, blocking Georgians from using it to buy 2025 coverage. Instead, all Georgia residents looking for an ACA plan must use the state’s own website, GeorgiaAccess.gov, or sites that Georgia has approved and connected to.
Because the state has created its own health insurance marketplace, the state will now reap hundreds of millions of dollars in administrative fees that previously were paid to the federal government.
People can still get help from a human “navigator” to assist them in signing up.
People who want insurance coverage that starts Feb. 1 still have until Jan. 15, 2025 to sign up.
People who meet special conditions, like changing jobs and losing one’s insurance, will still be able to get a special window to enroll, called a Special Enrollment Period.
WHERE TO SHOP FOR GEORGIA ACA INSURANCE
- Georgians cannot shop on Healthcare.gov for 2025 coverage.
- The new ACA website for Georgians is GeorgiaAccess.gov. Click “Consumer Portal” to shop, contrast and compare plans and prices for your income situation.
- Georgians have until Friday, Dec. 20 to sign up for coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2025. They have until Jan. 15 to sign up for coverage that starts on Feb. 1, 2025.
- Unbiased “navigators” are available. The state’s help line is 888-687-1503 (TTY Line 711).
- The web broker HealthSherpa.com presents only plans that meet the federally qualified guidelines for robust coverage. Its phone number is 855-772-2663.
- GeorgiaAccess.gov also suggests using private agents, insurance company websites and other web brokers for help. They can be searched from the website.
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