Health insurance in Tennessee: what's new, and how we track it

The answer up front: this is the site's running record of what changes from one plan year to the next — rate filings, which insurers are selling in Tennessee, and which laws changed. For 2027: the statewide average individual-market rate increase is roughly 15.6–15.9%, Cigna is leaving the Tennessee marketplace (five insurers remain), the enhanced premium tax credits are gone (expired December 31, 2025), and open enrollment runs November 1, 2026 – January 15, 2027. Every number below was checked against a primary source and carries a verification date. When something changes, this page changes the same week.

Our standing promise: the "checked on" stamp

Every factual page on this site carries a visible "Last verified" date — it's right at the top of this page, too. Here's what the stamp means in practice:

• We re-check every factual page before each open enrollment. In early fall, before the November 1 window opens, we run our full re-verification checklist against the new plan year's filings, laws, and program rules.
• No page carries a new plan year's facts until they're verified. A page that hasn't been re-checked yet keeps showing its old last-verified date — visibly. It never silently pretends to be current.
• We never update early. A proposed rate, a bill that hasn't passed, or a rumor about a carrier leaving stays off our pages until it's final. We'd rather be right than first.
• Mid-year corrections happen the same week. If a law changes, a carrier exits, or we find an error, the page is updated within the week and carries a dated note saying what changed.

Read the full methodology — including exactly what we refuse to publish — on the how we verify page.

Rate filings: what 2027 looks like

Tennessee insurers filed their 2027 individual-market rates, and the state's SERFF database finalized them around September 28, 2026. The headline numbers:

• Statewide weighted-average approved increase: roughly 15.6–15.9% for individual-market plans — the second consecutive year of double-digit increases. (For national context, KFF reported that ACA marketplace insurers nationally proposed a median increase of about 15% for 2027, after a finalized median increase of about 20% for 2026.)
• Carrier-level changes (as reported in filings): BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, final approved ~+10.4%; Celtic/Ambetter, ~+11% (requested figure); Oscar, final ~+21.4% (up from 18.7% proposed); UnitedHealthcare, final ~+24.5% (down from 28.7% proposed); Alliant Health Plans, ~+23.3% (requested figure).

Two cautions that matter to you. First, a statewide average is not your premium change — your rate depends on your age, county, and tobacco use, and the insurer's average doesn't tell you what your plan's increase will be. Second, we never publish standing premium prices on this site: they rot within a year and vary person to person. When window shopping opens (typically late October), check actual rates for your ZIP code on HealthCare.gov. Our marketplace guide teaches you how to compare plans once you're there.

Carrier entries and exits

For 2027, five insurers will sell individual and family marketplace plans in Tennessee:

• BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
• Celtic / Ambetter
• Oscar
• UnitedHealthcare
• Alliant Health Plans

Cigna is exiting the Tennessee individual marketplace at the end of 2026 (it is leaving other states' individual markets too). Six insurers sold plans for 2026; five remain for 2027. If you were a Cigna marketplace enrollee in 2026, you must pick a new plan during open enrollment — don't assume anything will carry over.

What we can't responsibly tell you yet: which of the five insurers will sell in which of Tennessee's 8 rating areas (and therefore your county). The state insurance department's published carrier-by-area map still reflects the 2026 plan year — it lists Cigna — so it can't be trusted for 2027. We're confirming each area against HealthCare.gov window shopping as soon as it opens, and our regions page will carry confirmed per-county availability once verified.

Law changes we're tracking

Enhanced premium tax credits expired December 31, 2025. The pandemic-era enhancements — which removed the 400% of poverty-level income cap and lowered what enrollees paid at every income level — were temporary and Congress did not extend them. For 2027, the original pre-2021 rules apply: tax credits are generally available to households earning 100%–400% of the federal poverty level, with a hard cliff at 400%. See how subsidies work now.

H.R. 1834 — the extension bill. The House passed a three-year extension of the enhanced credits in January 2026, but the Senate had not taken it up as of October 2026. A separate Senate extension bill (S. 3385) failed to reach 60 votes in December 2025, and a bipartisan compromise was still being negotiated with no floor vote scheduled. Unless Congress acts and the bill becomes law, the pre-2021 structure governs 2027. We're watching this closely — and we want to be clear about what "watching" means: we don't predict outcomes, and we will never update our subsidies guidance on the basis of a bill that hasn't passed. If H.R. 1834 (or anything else) becomes law, our pages change that same week and say so.

The open-enrollment schedule survived a legal fight. A 2025 federal rule had shortened the 2027 open-enrollment window to end December 15. On June 12, 2026, a federal court (City of Columbus v. Kennedy) vacated that provision, and CMS confirmed in writing that HealthCare.gov will keep the November 1 – January 15 schedule regardless of the pending appeal (the government appealed to the 4th Circuit in July 2026; oral arguments were expected in late October 2026). We're monitoring this case only for 2028 planning — it cannot change the 2027 window. If your favorite website still shows a December 15 end date, it's out of date.

What changed for 2027

The short list, all verified against primary sources:

• Open enrollment is restored to its full length: November 1, 2026 – January 15, 2027, by court order. Enroll by December 15, 2026 for January 1, 2027 coverage; enrollments December 16 – January 15 start February 1, 2027. Open enrollment guide →
• Five marketplace insurers, not six. Cigna exits; BCBST, Celtic/Ambetter, Oscar, UHC, and Alliant remain.
• Enhanced tax credits are gone. Pre-2021 subsidy rules (100%–400% of poverty level, hard cliff at 400%) apply unless Congress acts. Subsidies explained →
• Repayment caps are gone (tax year 2026 onward). Public Law 119-21 removed the income-based caps on repaying excess advance credits. Estimate safely →
• Immigrant tax-credit eligibility narrowed (2027). Credits are limited to green card holders, certain Cuban/Haitian entrants, and COFA migrants. Immigrant guide →
• Out-of-pocket maximums rose to $12,000 individual / $24,000 family (up from $10,600/$21,200 in 2026), per CMS 2027 parameters.
• Medicare Part D figures are final: $41.33/month base premium, $2,400 annual out-of-pocket cap (up from $2,100), standard deductible up to $700. (The 2027 Part B premium was still pending as of our last check.) Medicare in Tennessee →
• Income verification: some 2025 rule changes were blocked. After court orders in City of Columbus v. Kennedy, CMS said in July 2026 that it reinstated the automatic 60-day extension for resolving income mismatches and will not remove tax credits for unreconciled prior-year returns for plan years 2026 and 2027. Still answer every data-matching notice.
• Automatic re-enrollment is still available for 2027 — but note a new rule starting 2028 will renew unverified enrollees without tax credits. That's a 2028 problem, and we'll have a page on it when it matters.

What we're watching before November 1, 2026

These are the open questions our research flagged. Two are now resolved (see below); the rest could still change what's true for 2027, and none of the unresolved ones appears on our guidance pages as fact:

1. H.R. 1834 (enhanced credit extension): does the Senate act before open enrollment? If it becomes law, the subsidy math on our pages changes entirely.
2. Per-rating-area carrier map: which of the five 2027 insurers sells in each of Tennessee's 8 rating areas — confirmed on HealthCare.gov window shopping when it opens (typically late October).
3. TennCare work requirements — now answered. Tennessee's 1115 waiver population is on CMS's in-scope list for the federal community-engagement requirements taking effect January 1, 2027 (confirmed by KFF's September 2026 tracker) — but broad exemptions mean only a small number of TennCare members are actually affected, and they're expected to be deemed compliant automatically from income data TennCare already holds. Our TennCare page carries the full answer; we're still watching for the Division of TennCare's own implementation guidance.
4. Navigator capacity — confirmed. CMS awarded GetCoveredTenn $473,000 for the 2027 plan year: in-person help in 10 counties (Cheatham, Davidson, Fayette, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Tipton, Williamson, Wilson), phone/virtual help statewide at 1-866-475-7879.
5. Medicare figures: the 2027 Part B premium had not been announced by CMS as of mid-September 2026 (the 2026 standard premium was $202.90). We'll fill it in when released.

Frequently asked questions

Is this page kept current? Yes — this page is re-checked before every open enrollment and updated the same week anything changes. The "Last verified" stamp at the top tells you when it was last confirmed. Every factual page on this site carries one; pages that haven't been re-checked yet show their old date visibly instead of pretending to be current.

A website says open enrollment for 2027 ends December 15. Is that wrong? Yes. A 2025 federal rule tried to shorten the window to end December 15, but a federal court vacated that provision in June 2026, and CMS confirmed in writing that the November 1, 2026 – January 15, 2027 schedule stands. Some websites were built before the ruling and never updated — they're out of date.

Are the enhanced subsidies coming back? They expired December 31, 2025, and Congress has not renewed them as of October 2026. The House passed a three-year extension (H.R. 1834) in January 2026, but the Senate hasn't acted. We're watching it, but we don't predict outcomes — and we will never update our subsidies guidance on a bill that hasn't become law. The day anything passes, our subsidies page changes that same week and says so.

How do I know whether Cigna's exit affects me? Only if you had a Cigna individual marketplace plan in Tennessee in 2026. If you did, you need to pick a new plan during open enrollment — with five other insurers to choose from. Don't assume auto-renewal will find you something comparable; check your options on HealthCare.gov or with a Navigator at 1-866-475-7879.

Which insurers sell in my county for 2027? We haven't verified that yet, and we won't guess. Tennessee has 8 rating areas and insurers file county by county. The state's published map still shows 2026 (Cigna included). Once HealthCare.gov window shopping opens — typically late October — we'll check every area and update our regions page with confirmed per-county availability.

Where do I see actual plan prices? On HealthCare.gov's plan comparison tool (typically open for window shopping in late October) or on insurers' own websites. We deliberately don't publish specific premium prices — they depend on your age, county, and tobacco use, and they change every plan year.

How do I report an error or a change you've missed? Use our contact page. Mid-year corrections go up the same week with a dated note on the page saying what changed.

Sources

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — 2027 plan-year parameters, ratereview.healthcare.gov consumer narratives, and written confirmation of the 2027 open enrollment schedule (Deputy Administrator Peter Nelson, August 2026)
• Federal court order in City of Columbus v. Kennedy (vacating the shortened 2027 window, June 12, 2026); appeal docket, 4th Circuit
• Tennessee SERFF rate filings, finalized ~September 28, 2026, via acasignups.net (2027 statewide weighted-average increase; carrier-level final approved and requested changes)
• KFF (August 4, 2026) — national median ~15% proposed increase for 2027, second consecutive year of double-digit hikes
• healthinsurance.org — Cigna's Tennessee marketplace exit; Tennessee marketplace overview
• TN Department of Commerce & Insurance, Health Insurance 101 (note: published carrier-by-area map reflects the 2026 plan year, Cigna included — not used for 2027)
• HealthCare.gov — Tennessee uses the federally facilitated marketplace
• GetCoveredTenn — Tennessee Navigator program (open enrollment window confirmation)
• Congress — H.R. 1834 legislative status; federal reporting on the enhanced premium tax credit expiration
• The 2027 plan-year research brief on file at this site (how we verify our facts)

Also see: Open enrollment guide · How the marketplace works in Tennessee · Subsidies and how you pay · Carriers by region · How we verify