Most of what has happened to health insurance in the last year has made coverage more expensive. Virginia is running the other way. Beginning with the 2027 plan year, the Commonwealth adds its own subsidies on top of the federal ones — $150 million allocated, aimed squarely at the income band that got hit hardest when the enhanced federal credits expired. If you looked at your renewal last year and walked away, Virginia is the one state on this site where the math genuinely changes in your favor this year.
The new state subsidy
Virginia is joining the short list of states that fund premium assistance themselves rather than relying only on federal tax credits. The program starts with plan year 2027 and targets households earning between 138% and 250% of the federal poverty level.
That band is not an accident. It is roughly where people earn too much for Medicaid but still feel every dollar of a premium — and it is exactly the group whose costs jumped when the enhanced federal credits lapsed at the end of 2025. Virginia is patching that specific hole with state money.
Virginia is stacking three things that work in your favor at once: the new state subsidy, a reinsurance program running since 2023 that holds down full-price premiums, and federal tax credits on top.
The practical consequence is that a 2027 Virginia quote is not comparable to the 2026 number that may have put you off. Same person, same plan, materially different result. It costs nothing to check.
You have until January 29
Virginia moved off HealthCare.gov in fall 2023 and now runs its own exchange, Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace. As a state-based exchange it sets its own calendar, and Virginia’s is the most generous among the states we serve.
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 through January 29, 2027. Most states close on January 15. That is two extra weeks after nearly every national deadline reminder has stopped running — and after most people assume the window has shut.
One date to confirm directly: the cutoff for coverage that begins January 1 is set separately from the close of open enrollment, and state-based exchanges do not all use the federal December 15 date — Maryland, for instance, allows until December 31. Virginia has not published its 2027 coverage-effective cutoff in a form we could verify, so confirm it with Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace before relying on a specific day. The January 29 close is confirmed.
Deadlines vary more than most people expect. The full comparison is here: 2027 open enrollment deadlines by state.
Who covers Virginia
Eight insurers offered 2026 coverage, after Aetna Health and Innovation Health both exited at the end of 2025. If either of those was your plan, you were moved — and it is worth confirming where you landed.
| Carrier | What to know |
|---|---|
| HealthKeepers (Anthem) | Anthem’s Virginia entity, broad statewide reach. |
| Sentara Health Plan | Formerly Optima. Integrated Virginia system, strongest in Hampton Roads and eastern Virginia. |
| CareFirst | Blue Cross affiliate, strongest in Northern Virginia and the DC suburbs. |
| Group Hospitalization and Medical Services | CareFirst’s companion entity serving the Northern Virginia corridor. |
| Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic | Integrated model, care and coverage in one organization. Northern Virginia focused. |
| Cigna | National carrier with a selective Virginia footprint. |
| Optimum Choice | UnitedHealthcare’s Virginia entity. |
| Oscar Health | Technology-forward carrier, generally metro-focused. |
Carrier participation reflects plan year 2026. Networks, service areas and pricing are refiled annually — confirm current availability for your county before enrolling.
Why the average rate increase is misleading here
Virginia’s overall average increase for 2026 was about 21.6% before subsidies. That number is close to useless for planning, because the spread behind it was extraordinary: individual insurer increases ranged from 1.1% to 35.4%.
A thirty-four point gap between the mildest and steepest carrier means the average describes almost nobody. If you let your plan auto-renew, you were carried along by whatever your specific insurer filed — which may have been near the bottom of that range or near the top, with no relationship to the headline figure.
This is the strongest argument in Virginia for actively comparing rather than renewing by default. In a year with that much dispersion, staying put is a bet, not a neutral choice.
No coverage gap
Virginia adopted Medicaid expansion in 2019. Adults with household income up to 138% of the federal poverty level can qualify for Medicaid, and Virginia has run an easy enrollment program since 2021 to help connect people to coverage they are eligible for.
With the new state subsidy starting at 138% of FPL, Virginia has effectively closed the seam: Medicaid runs up to that line, and state assistance picks up immediately above it. That is a more continuous ladder than most states offer.
If you work for yourself in Virginia
The state has an unusually large population of people buying their own coverage — consultants, contractors, sole proprietors, and small firms around the Northern Virginia corridor and the Richmond and Hampton Roads markets. If that is you, the decision looks different from an employee’s.
Three things matter more than they do for someone on a group plan:
- Your income is a projection, not a number. Subsidy eligibility runs on what you expect to earn across the whole coverage year, and the rules for getting that wrong changed for tax year 2026 — there is no longer a cap on repaying excess credits.
- The new state subsidy has a ceiling. Virginia’s 2027 assistance runs to 250% of the federal poverty level. A sole proprietor clearing that threshold gets federal credits only, and above 400% none at all.
- You are buying the network yourself. No HR department negotiated it for you. If you have clients or work across state lines, a regional HMO built around one Virginia health system is a poor fit at any price.
The self-employed are also the group for whom medically underwritten coverage most often prices better, because they are frequently healthy, frequently above the subsidy line, and frequently need a network that travels. You can also deduct premiums as a self-employed person, provided neither you nor a spouse has access to an employer-subsidized plan — which changes the real cost of both routes.
More on estimating variable income, and the deductions that move it, in the freelancers and gig workers guide.
Where private coverage fits
The new state subsidy arriving for 2027 covers 138–250% of the poverty level. Inside that band, take it.
Above it you are paying a full-price community-rated premium — and given that Virginia carriers filed increases ranging from 1.1% to 35.4% this year, what you are quoted may have very little to do with your own risk. That is the nature of community rating: your premium reflects the pool, not you.
Private coverage is medically underwritten and priced to your actual health. For a healthy Virginian above the subsidy line, it regularly comes back lower, with a broader network attached. Not everyone is accepted, which is why the pricing holds. See both numbers before you renew.
Before you renew by default
- Whether the new state subsidy reaches you. It applies between 138% and 250% of FPL. If you are near either edge, projected income for the year decides it.
- What your own carrier filed — not the 21.6% average. Yours may be nothing like it.
- Where you landed if you had Aetna or Innovation Health. Confirm your doctors survived the move.
- The January 1 coverage cutoff, directly with the marketplace, before you rely on a date.
Working with a broker costs you nothing — carriers pay the commission, and the premium on any given plan is identical either way. In a year this dispersed, a second opinion is worth more than usual.
General information as of September 2026. Not a quote, an offer of coverage, or a guarantee of eligibility. Marketplace rules, carrier participation, deadlines and subsidy eligibility change year to year.
Free, no-obligation comparison — takes about 10 minutes.
Get My Free Quote