Regulators Approve 2026 Health Insurance Rate Increases

The Connecticut Insurance Department announced 2027 health insurance rates Sept. 11—resulting in increases across the fully insured individual and small group markets.

Health insurance carriers are required to submit their rate increase requests on an annual basis under both federal and state law.

Around 220,000 Connecticut residents are enrolled in fully insured individual and small group plans currently. 

CID reviewed five filings from four different insurers on and off the state’s exchange this summer, with increase requests of 16.2% for the individual market and 17.8% in the small group market.

After an actuarial analysis, rates increased by an average of 11.3% in the individual market and 15.1% in the small group market.

Small Group Market

CIDs’s decision to review and adjust the requests in turn reduced the projected hike in premiums by 30% in the individual market and 15% in the small group market. 

The small group market serves businesses with 50 or fewer employees. It is projected to cover roughly 62,908 people in 2027—a four percentage decrease from last year.

In 2026, the small group market covered about 65,815 people though plans both on and off the exchange. 

In 2024, healthcare spending in Connecticut was $10,641 per capita, 13th highest in the country.

Healthcare affordability challenges reflect broader cost pressures in a state where healthcare spending is already among the highest in the country. 

In 2024, healthcare spending in Connecticut was $10,641 per capita, 13th highest in the country according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau.

The CBIA Foundation’s 2026 Survey of Connecticut Businesses found that 88% of employers saw per-employee costs rose at their most recent renewal, with annual increases the largest in recent years.

What’s Next?

These trends are particularly important and leave a lasting impact on the fully insured markets, where annual rate increases directly impact the cost-of-living and doing business.

For small businesses, it is often the difference between being able to offer employees healthcare or not.

“For the last couple years, we’ve all been out on our own,” Fascia’s Chocolates’ owner Carmen Romeo told reporters at a press conference in the spring after premiums became unrealistic for his workforce.

While CID tries to mitigate premium rate increases, they cannot solve the problem of healthcare costs alone. 

“Families and small businesses that are already stretched by the cost of health coverage continue to feel that pressure.” 

 

The upcoming 2027 legislative session should reflect a true effort by the legislature to tackle this issue and provide relief to the employers, employees, and families of Connecticut. 

Association Health Plans, supported by a regulatory framework known as Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement trusts, will help address rising healthcare premiums and expand access to healthcare for small businesses in Connecticut. 

CBIA has long supported legislation to legalize this framework in Connecticut.

These plans will enable business and trade associations to pool employers and their employees into a larger, self-funded health plan. 

By pooling risk on a larger scale, small businesses gain more flexibility in their pursuit for employee coverage and lower healthcare costs.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Alannah Doheny (860.244.1163).