Cyber has changed Augusta. The Army's cyber operations buildup brought thousands of contractors to the area, and contractors switch badges often, sometimes with a coverage gap in between. Layer on the medical district around Augusta University, one of the region's biggest employment centers, and the week each April when the golf tournament floods the city with short-term service work, and you get a market where nonstandard coverage questions come up all year.
The rules here
| Max initial term (short-term) | No cap set by Georgia law |
| Max total duration | Up to 36 months, available under current federal non-enforcement |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, short-term, extended short-term, fixed indemnity, supplemental |
| Exchange type | State-based exchange (Georgia Access) |
| Medicaid expansion | No |
What's available in Augusta
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | Yes | Terms follow the contract; no Georgia statutory cap | Short-term |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | Yes | Up to 36 months while federal non-enforcement holds | Extended plans |
| Fixed indemnity | Yes | Pays set cash amounts, not a substitute for major medical | Fixed indemnity |
| Supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) | Yes | Pairs with other coverage | Accident · Critical illness · Dental · Vision |
Short-term and fixed indemnity plans are not ACA compliant and do not count as minimum essential coverage. They are medically underwritten and typically exclude pre-existing conditions.
What one person pays for coverage in Georgia
Average monthly premiums for individual coverage. Family pricing differs; quotes are individual.
| Coverage type | Monthly premium (individual) | What that number is |
|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace (before subsidy) | $777 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $89 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $652 / $1947 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $131/mo toward single coverage (MEPS-IC, 2024).2 |
| Medicaid | $0 or nominal for those who qualify | Program design, not an average; eligibility is income-based5 |
| Fixed indemnity | $216.01 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Georgia with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Accident | $28.17 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Georgia with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Critical Illness | $39.55 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Georgia with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
Independent contractors in the cyber corridor and self-employed Augustans generally start from the marketplace benchmark above. Subsidies depend on projected household income and size for the year, no estimate is a guarantee, and a licensed agent can confirm eligibility through Georgia Access.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Augusta at a glance
Augusta operates as a consolidated government with Richmond County and anchors Georgia's second largest metro, with an economy built on the Army's cyber center of excellence at the nearby post, the Augusta University medical district, and the Savannah River industrial corridor. The Masters tournament gives the city a global profile and an annual surge of hospitality employment.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~202,000 | Richmond (FIPS 13245) | Augusta-Richmond County |
Three Augusta situations
Terrell, 36, cleared cyber contractor between task orders. His next contract starts in four months. A short-term plan covers the gap at low cost, and since he is healthy, underwriting is a formality rather than a barrier.
Gwen, 50, medical coder who went freelance. Her old hospital job had rich benefits; her new 1099 life has none. She should compare a Georgia Access marketplace plan with a subsidy against an extended short-term plan, remembering that only the marketplace plan covers her pre-existing hypertension.
Betty, 63, runs a bed and breakfast that peaks in tournament week. Two years from Medicare, with lumpy seasonal income, her subsidy depends on the annual projection. The marketplace covers her without underwriting, which matters at her age even in good health.
How Georgia's rules work
Georgia has no state statute capping short-term plan duration, so federal policy fills the space. Under the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, the restrictive 2024 federal rule is currently not being enforced, and that is the sole legal basis for the 36-month products sold in Georgia today. Treat the multi-year option as conditional: if federal enforcement resumes, new multi-year sales could stop, and your renewal rights would be whatever your contract says.
ACA enrollment in Georgia runs through Georgia Access, the state-based exchange, with dates set by the state and open enrollment generally opening November 1. Georgia did not expand Medicaid, so the coverage gap is real here: adults below the federal poverty level without a qualifying category get no subsidy and no Medicaid. For some Augusta households, supplemental or fixed indemnity products end up being the only affordable protection, and they should be sold as what they are, limited benefits rather than major medical.
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Keep reading — more Georgia guides
Premium data methodology. 1 Marketplace premium averages reflect the average monthly premium before advance premium tax credits, the average monthly premium after advance premium tax credits among subsidized enrollees, and the percentage of enrollees receiving advance premium tax credits, for Georgia, as reported in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, 2026 plan year, available at cms.gov. Figures are statewide averages across all metal tiers, ages, and household sizes; your premium will differ based on your age, household, income, county, and plan selection.
2 Employer coverage averages reflect the average total monthly premium for single and family coverage at private-sector establishments in Georgia, including both employer and employee contributions, as reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2024 tables, available at meps.ahrq.gov. Employee contribution figure reflects the average employee share of the single-coverage premium. Employer plan costs vary by employer, plan design, and firm size.
3 Client averages are calculated from GetHealthPlans.com (MTG Insurance Agency LLC) internal book-of-business records as of July 15, 2026 and reflect the median or mean monthly premium, as labeled, among active policies providing individual coverage (one covered person) of the stated product type held by our clients residing in the stated state or, where labeled agency-wide, across all states in which we operate. Family and multi-person policies are excluded so that figures reflect what one person pays. Figures are shown only for states and products where our records include a sufficient number of active individual policies to report a meaningful average, with a minimum of ten; combinations below that threshold are not shown. Where a figure is labeled "median," half of our client policies in that group pay less and half pay more. Our client base reflects the products we sell, skews toward medically underwritten coverage, and may not represent all buyers or all plans available in a state. These figures are historical averages of premiums actually paid by our clients, are not quotes, offers, or projections, and are not statements of what any individual will pay. Individual premiums are determined by the insurer at application based on age, location, term length, benefit selections, and underwriting outcomes.
4 No federal or state agency publishes average premium data for short-term limited duration insurance or fixed indemnity insurance. Where we do not display a client-base figure for these products, it is because we do not have sufficient policy volume in that state to report a meaningful average. Short-term and fixed indemnity products are medically underwritten, are not major medical coverage, are not required to cover pre-existing conditions or essential health benefits, and do not constitute minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
5 Medicaid and CHIP are public programs, not insurance products sold by this agency. Premiums are $0 or nominal for those who qualify; eligibility is determined by your state based on income, household size, and other factors. The figure shown describes program design, not an average. Contact your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov to check eligibility.