Aurora passed Rockford years ago to become the second largest city in Illinois, and its economy has moved well beyond the Fox River mills that built it: logistics and healthcare employers, plus a big commuter workforce tied to the western Chicago suburbs, now drive local payrolls. When people here lose employer coverage or go independent, the options look different than they did a few years ago, because Illinois removed short-term plans from the market entirely.
The rules here
| Short-term products | Not available in Illinois (prohibited as of January 1, 2025) |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, Medicaid, supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) |
| Exchange type | Federal marketplace (HealthCare.gov) |
| Open enrollment | November 1 through January 15 |
| Medicaid expansion | Yes |
What's available in Aurora
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | No | Illinois prohibited short-term plans as of January 1, 2025 | |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | No | Not sold here; the underlying short-term product is prohibited | |
| Fixed indemnity | No | Not available in Illinois | |
| Supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) | Yes | Pairs with other coverage, not a substitute for major medical | Accident · Critical illness · Dental · Vision |
Supplemental products pay defined benefits for specific events. They are not major medical insurance and do not replace a marketplace plan.
What one person pays for coverage in Illinois
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) | $816 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $142 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $732 / $2083 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $158/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 |
| Accident | $35.12 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Illinois with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
Self-employed Aurora residents start from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Subsidy eligibility depends on your projected household income and family size for the year; an estimate is not a guarantee, and a licensed agent can run the actual calculation with you.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Aurora at a glance
Aurora sits on the Fox River about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago and spreads across four counties, with Kane holding most of the population. The city earned the nickname City of Lights as one of the first American cities to run all-electric street lighting, and today a revived downtown and the Hollywood Casino anchor the city's core while a growing warehouse and distribution belt spreads along its edges.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~180,500 | Kane (FIPS 17089) | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin |
Three Aurora situations
Marisol, 34, runs a small cleaning business on the far east side. She has no employer plan and modest income. On the marketplace her subsidy covers a large share of the premium, and because her income can swing, she reports changes during the year so her credit stays accurate.
Greg, 51, laid off from a distribution center job. He has 60 days to elect COBRA and 60 days for a Special Enrollment Period. Comparing the full COBRA price against a subsidized marketplace plan usually settles the question quickly, and in Illinois there is no short-term bridge to fall back on, so he should act inside the window.
Tina, 27, part-time hours and low income. Illinois expanded Medicaid, so if her income falls under the expansion threshold she can enroll any month of the year at no premium. If a raise pushes her over, that change qualifies her for a marketplace Special Enrollment Period.
How Illinois's rules work
Illinois prohibited short-term limited duration insurance as of January 1, 2025. That is state law, so the federal government's posture does not change anything here: the 2024 federal short-term rule is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, but Illinois residents still cannot buy these plans because the state ban is the binding constraint. Fixed indemnity plans are not available in Illinois either.
The practical effect is that timing matters more in Aurora than in most of the country. Miss open enrollment without a qualifying event and there is no underwritten bridge product to carry you to November. The counterweight is that Illinois expanded Medicaid, so lower-income households have year-round coverage available, and Illinois uses HealthCare.gov with open enrollment from November 1 through January 15.
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Keep reading — more Illinois 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 Illinois, 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 Illinois, 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.