Delaware ACA rates approved for 2027: What your premium may show

Published: September 6, 2026

Last fact-checked: September 6, 2026

Current status: Individual-market rate increases approved; effective January 1, 2027.

Delaware ACA rates for 2027 will increase by approved averages of 17.20% for Highmark and 13.94% for AmeriHealth Caritas. Delaware announced the approvals on September 4, 2026.

Residents buying individual Affordable Care Act coverage should prepare to compare renewal notices, not assume those percentages equal their bills. Actual costs depend on the plan and any financial assistance. Keep your current premium statement and compare the full premium, tax credit and amount you owe separately.

Which policies are affected?

The Department of Insurance’s September 4, 2026 announcement confirms the Marketplace approvals. The table below uses the department’s carrier-specific approval records.

The announcement initially excludes off-Marketplace individual policies, but later describes aligned increases. Separate Highmark off-Marketplace and AmeriHealth off-Marketplace approval pages also list 17.20% and 13.94%. Buyers of those ACA-compliant policies should not assume they are unaffected.

These individual-market approvals do not set employer-plan, Medicare or Medicaid premiums. These approvals alone do not change a 2026 premium bill.

Delaware ACA rates versus your renewal bill

A gross premium is the price before financial assistance. Your net premium is what remains after an applied advance premium tax credit. HealthCare.gov explains how that credit reduces monthly payments; qualification requires a Marketplace determination. A plan bought outside the Marketplace does not qualify for that premium tax credit.

Illustrative calculation: Assume a $600 monthly gross premium. Applying the approved averages gives $600 × 1.172 = $703.20 for Highmark and $600 × 1.1394 = $683.64 for AmeriHealth. Those are arithmetic examples, not actual quotes or a comparison of equivalent plans.

Now assume a $400 monthly credit and use the Highmark illustration:

Neither credit amount is a forecast or eligibility finding. Replace every assumed figure with your actual renewal information. A lower percentage increase also does not establish which insurer offers the cheaper suitable plan.

What the evidence does not establish

Highmark’s approval page lists a 20.20% request, while its linked preliminary justification describes a 17.3% request. The reviewed documents do not reconcile those figures. This article uses the approved 17.20%, corroborated by the announcement, and makes no claimed-savings calculation from competing requests.

The approvals do not guarantee an unchanged deductible, provider network, tax credit or prescription coverage. AmeriHealth’s August 14, 2026 filing describes plan-specific benefit and cost-sharing changes.

When to shop, and what to keep

Enrollment status: Not yet open. The current CMS statement confirms November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. HealthCare.gov’s schedule identifies December 15, 2026 for January 1, 2027 coverage, subject to first-premium payment. Follow your insurer’s instructions for when and how to pay. The official source does not specify a separate time-of-day cutoff.

Enrollment from December 16, 2026 through January 15, 2027 generally starts coverage on February 1, 2027, after first-premium payment. No mailed-postmark rule is stated in the reviewed schedule.

Need coverage sooner? Use HealthCare.gov’s eligibility screener to check for a Special Enrollment Period. Rate approval does not establish your eligibility.

1. Check the correct plan year. During enrollment, update expected income and household information for 2027. Do not carry forward an old credit without checking eligibility.
2. Compare coverage alongside price. Use the official plan-comparison guidance to check deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, doctors and covered drugs.
3. Save your evidence. Keep renewal letters, plan identifiers, benefit summaries, premium statements, eligibility notices, application confirmations and dated screenshots. Request a missing insurer letter from your plan; request a missing Marketplace letter from the Marketplace.

Where to take a problem

For an unexplained insurer charge, contact the insurer first. If unresolved, use Delaware’s insurance complaint instructions. Describe events in your own words and attach relevant records. Do not submit another online form for an issue already reported to the department; follow up on the existing case.

For Marketplace enrollment problems, call the Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596, not the state rate-review process. Preserve confirmation numbers and avoid posting personal records publicly. Neither a complaint nor these approvals guarantees a lower bill.

Bottom line and next update

Use approved averages as context, not a household budget quote. Recheck this report when Delaware changes an approval, resolves the filing discrepancy, or CMS changes enrollment guidance. More reporting is available in Fiscal Wire’s insurance coverage hub.

This article provides general consumer information, not individualized insurance, tax, legal or financial advice.