Just got a COBRA letter? Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period — and because COBRA carries no employer contribution and no premium tax credit, the alternative is often much cheaper.
Not a government marketplace. Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC.
Georgia runs its own marketplace as of the 2025 plan year — Georgia Access — which replaced HealthCare.gov for enrolling in ACA plans. The metal tiers, essential benefits and premium tax credits are the same; the enrollment front door just changed. Roughly 1.5 million Georgians selected marketplace coverage in the most recent Open Enrollment, and about 95% qualified for a premium tax credit.
COBRA lets you keep your former employer's exact plan — but now you pay the whole premium plus a 2% admin fee, with no employer contribution. For most households that's $650–$1,200+ a month. The letter makes it sound like your only option. It isn't.
Losing employer coverage is a qualifying life event. It opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA marketplace, where your income may qualify you for a premium tax credit that COBRA can never offer. Many people who were paying $900 for COBRA move to a comparable Silver plan for $300–$450 — often keeping the same primary-care doctor in-network.
The timing move that saves people money: you have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a marketplace plan. Unlike COBRA, marketplace coverage is not retroactive — it starts on a future date, so a gap is possible if you wait. Before you pay that first COBRA invoice, it's worth a 10-minute call to compare. If an ACA plan beats COBRA, we help you enroll; if COBRA is genuinely better for your situation, we'll tell you that too.
Georgia runs its own exchange, Georgia Access, rather than using HealthCare.gov. That matters more than it sounds: state-based exchanges set their own Open Enrollment dates, can recognize special enrollment situations the federal marketplace does not, and sometimes administer state-only programs that have no federal equivalent. Check the Georgia Access calendar rather than assuming the federal dates apply to you. Georgia now runs its own state-based marketplace, Georgia Access, which replaced HealthCare.gov enrollment for Georgians starting with the 2025 plan year. The plans and premium tax credits work the same way — only the front door changed.
Worth knowing before you pay a COBRA invoice in Georgia: the state has not expanded Medicaid, so a post-job-loss income drop rarely makes an adult Medicaid-eligible — which means your real alternative to COBRA is a subsidized marketplace plan, and subsidies here start at 100% of the federal poverty level. Children often still qualify for CHIP year-round, but for the adults the marketplace is the lever, and it usually beats COBRA on price. Georgia has not fully expanded Medicaid; its limited Pathways to Coverage program carries work requirements. For most working-age Georgians the marketplace and its premium tax credits remain the primary route to affordable coverage — and the subsidies are more generous than many expect.
The carriers writing individual business in Georgia include Ambetter from Peach State Health Plan, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Aetna CVS Health, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and others. Networks and pricing are set county by county rather than statewide, so the same carrier can be the best value in one metro and the wrong choice an hour away. We quote Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah and Columbus — and every county in between.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
Yes. We help Georgia residents compare COBRA alternatives options against the alternatives so you can see the real trade-offs before you enroll.
Georgia Access is Georgia's state-based health insurance marketplace, which replaced HealthCare.gov for Georgians beginning with the 2025 plan year. You enroll in the same kind of ACA plans, with the same premium tax credits — a licensed agent can enroll you through Georgia Access at no extra cost and also show private off-exchange plans.
Through Georgia Access, the exchange Georgia runs itself — not HealthCare.gov. A licensed agent can enroll you in the same plans at the same price. Because Georgia sets its own calendar, check the Open Enrollment dates against Georgia Access rather than assuming the federal ones apply to you.
The carriers writing individual business in Georgia include Ambetter from Peach State Health Plan, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Aetna CVS Health, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and others. Which of them is actually competitive depends on your county rather than the state — the lineup and the networks in Atlanta are not the lineup in Columbus. We are independent and compare across all of them rather than steering you to one company.
Start with your ZIP. Two quick questions, then a licensed agent brings you the plans you actually qualify for — no cost, no obligation.