2026 Open Enrollment
We recommend reading through some of the below, or having this page in another tab to refer back to if you have any questions.
It's not just you. Insurance is overwhelming this year, and every year for that matter!
Once you are ready to enroll, push the floating red button that says, "online enrollment."
From Holly And Shelly
This year, the instability of insurance rates have caused our office to be far busier than we ever have been. We wanted to find a way to get our plan recommendations out to everyone we could, even if we couldn't talk to them this year.
We recommend Silver plans or higher if...
You can afford the premium, and the plan's network works for you. If you expect to meet the deductible or out-of-pocket Max. If your income qualifies you for lower deductibles and out-of-pocket Maxes.
I see Specialists, what do I look for?
If you are used to having a copay when you see a specialist, we recommend looking at plans with a specialist copay.
None of my medications are coming up!
Much like the doctor search, the medication formularies seem to not be communicating with the quoting systems. There is a button on each plan at the bottom that say "Drugs" which will pull up a search. (Shelly's tip: Ctrl+F will search the pdf for your medications. Try the generic name if brand doesn't come up)
We recommend Bronze plans if....
Silver plans are unaffordable. If you do not typically meet the deductible or out of pocket max each year.
None of my doctors are coming up!
Both HealthSherpa (our quoting and enrollment platform) and GaAccess' Doctor search is not correctly communicating with many Carriers. there is a button on each plan that says "doctors" where it will take you directly to the carrier to search. (see FAQ for quick reference)
You can try searching the practice name, or either the head doctor or another one in the practice to see if they will pull up that way.
This is still so expensive, I don't know what to do.
We know. We hear you. This has been the hardest open enrollment for us to date. We have written to our members of Congress, are actively tracking the status of the extended tax credit by the hour. We encourage all our clients to reach out to their representatives to ask them to find a way to extend the ARA tax credit while a plan is worked on to better control the growing cost of insurance every year,
Short term is an option, but it underwrites. This means it does not cover pre-existing conditions.
Enrollment Tips
You trust us to enroll you every year because of our experience. We want to give you some tips to help you have a smoother process.
Have this information handy.
You will need the below handy for all members of your tax household, regardless of if they are applying or not.
Names, DOBs, SSN, Income, Type of income, employer name
You are required to... in order to have a tax credit
File jointly if you are married
Not have coverage available through an employer
Have filed a 1095A form in previous years if you had marketplace/ACA coverage
You want to choose different plans for your family members in the same household
Do not create seperate applications for members of your tax household who you wish to put on a different policy, or one of their own. Instead, at the end of the application, you will be able to select "Shop Multiple Plans"
This option is only available AFTER the application is signed and submitted. Submitting the application will take you to an eligibility results, and the next page is where you can select "Change plan" or "Shop Multiple Plans"
Get stuck in the middle of the application? Call our office and let us know you started an application from the link on our website and got stuck. We will try our best to help.
FAQs
The number one questions we get every call.
Why is my rate going up so high?
The American Rescue Act implemented during covid is set to expire at the end of this year, unless Congress approves an extension.
These were an additional tax credit on top of the existing one. This affects not only those with tax credits, but those without as well, because the insurance companies anticipated loss of healthy business, resulting in high rate filings.
What plan should I go with?
This is a decision that often takes up the majority of our appointments, as it is always an important decision.
The top things we look at: Hospital network, Doctors in network, Prescription coverage.
If you use your plan alot, or you anticipate high usage in the year, aiming for a lower Deductible or even an Out of Pocket Max may be a big decider. The other is cost and copays. Take your time, compare the plans.
What if they extend the ARA after I sign up?
The good news is we are looking at worst case scenario rates.
This means if they were to extend the tax credits, everyone is likely looking at lower rates. We won't know that for sure until Congress votes in December, which could potentially be after December 15th.
After December 15th am I locked into a plan?
While December 15th is the deadline for a January 1st effective date, we have until January 15th to lock in a plan for the rest of the year with a Feb 1st effective date.
Short answer? No. OE ends January 15th. We can switch you until then.
How do I know what hospital network takes what?
*Please note this is what we use as a reference for our calls, and may not be completely up to date. Use as a loose guide to help narrow choices.
- Ambetter WELLSTAR SELECT: Wellstar
- Ambetter SELECT PLUS: Piedmont
- Ambetter "Premier" Gold/Silver/Bronze: Northside, Emory, Piedmont, Wellstar, Navicent
- Anthem Blue Cross BLUE VALUE: Emory
- Anthem BlueCross Pathway and PCP Choice: Northside, Emory, Children's Hospital of ATL
- Caresource: Piedmont, Wellstar, NE GA Medical
- Kaiser Permanente: Emory, Piedmont, Children's Hospital of ATL (please note KP only had the HOSPITALS in network, all doctors are in house unless referred out.)
- Oscar GUIDED CARE: Emory
- Oscar OPEN ACCESS: Northside, Emory, Wellstar
- Cigna: Piedmont, Wellstar, Children's Hospital of ATL, NE GA Medical
- Alliant: Piedmont, Wellstar, NE GA Medical (Alliant is not available in ATL)
- United Healthcare: Northside, Piedmont, NE GA Medical