Louisiana health insurance Marketplace guide

If these apply to you, you can buy individual and family health insurance from Louisiana’s Marketplace:

• You live in Louisiana.
• You are lawfully present in the U.S.
• You’re not enrolled in Medicare.
• You’re not incarcerated.

Many people, like early retirees not yet on Medicare, self-employed people, and those who work for small businesses without health benefits, buy health insurance on the Marketplace.

Eligibility for financial assistance, such as premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, is based on your income and how it compares with the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area (which depends on your age and location). In addition, you may qualify for financial assistance in the Marketplace if:

• You don’t have access to affordable health coverage through your employer. If your employer offers coverage, but you feel it’s too expensive, our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator can help you understand if you might qualify for premium subsidies. 
• You’re not eligible for Medicaid/CHIP.
• You’re not eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A.⁵
• You file a joint tax return with your spouse, if you’re married.⁶
• You can’t be claimed by someone else as a tax dependent.⁶

In Louisiana, the open enrollment period for ACA-compliant individual and family health plans ended on January 15, 2026.⁷

To enroll in 2026 coverage for the remainder of the year, or to switch to a different plan, you’ll need a special enrollment period (SEP). To qualify for a SEP, you’ll generally need a qualifying life event, although Native Americans can enroll year-round without a qualifying life event. 

Starting in the fall of 2026, the open enrollment period will be shorter. In Louisiana (and all other states that use the HealthCare.gov Marketplace platform), the open enrollment period will run from November 1 to December 15, 2026. All plans selected during open enrollment will take effect on January 1.

You can enroll in a Louisiana health insurance Marketplace plan:

• Directly through HealthCare.gov, the ACA exchange website
• By phone at (800) 318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). Talk to an agent 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for holidays.
• With the help of agents, navigators, or certified application counselors (available over the phone or online; some offer in-person meetings as well).
• Via an approved enhanced direct enrollment entity.⁸

In Louisiana, people who don’t have access to Medicare, Medicaid, or an employer-sponsored plan can find affordable coverage on the ACA Marketplace (HealthCare.gov).

Most Louisiana Marketplace enrollees qualify for income-based premium subsidies called Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC). These subsidies are still available in 2026, but they don’t cover as much of enrollees’ total premiums as they did in 2025, and they’re no longer available to anyone whose household income is more than 400% of the federal poverty level.

During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, 91% of Marketplace enrollees in Louisiana qualified for APTC. The average subsidy amounted to $674/month, reducing the average net premium to about $582/month for subsidy-eligible enrollees.¹

Source: CMS.gov¹

In addition to APTC, you may qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSR), which help you pay for your deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses.⁹ CSR benefits are only available on Silver-level plans, and your income must be no more than 250% of the federal poverty level to be eligible for CSR. For 2026 coverage, that amounts to $39,125 for a single individual, and $80,375 for a family of four.¹⁰ 

Another way to find affordable health insurance in Louisiana is through the state’s Medicaid program. Louisiana has expanded Medicaid under the ACA, so adults under age 65 are eligible for Medicaid with a household income up to 138% of the poverty level.

Short-term plans may be a low-cost alternative for those who are not eligible for employer coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, or Marketplace subsidies. However, short-term plans are not subject to ACA regulations, so they generally offer less robust benefits and fewer consumer protections. 

Five private insurance companies are offering coverage through Louisiana’s health insurance Marketplace for 2026:¹¹ 

• Ambetter from Louisiana Healthcare Connections
• HMO Louisiana (Louisiana Blue)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of LA (LA Health Service and Indemnity Company)
• UnitedHealthcare
• CHRISTUS Health Plan Louisiana

As is the case in most states, plan availability varies throughout the state, as each insurer sets its own coverage area.

The following average premium increases were approved for Louisiana’s Marketplace insurers for 2026.¹² The overall average rate change amounted to an increase of 23.7% for 2026, before subsidies were applied¹³ (net premiums increased much more significantly, as described below).

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance¹²

Rate changes are calculated based on full-price premiums, before any premium subsidies are applied. However, because most people using Louisiana’s exchange receive premium tax credits, they don’t pay the full cost of their coverage.¹⁴ 

If you qualify for these subsidies, your actual rate change depends on your plan’s cost and the subsidy amount you receive. It’s important to understand that because Congress didn’t extend the federal subsidy enhancements that had been in place since 2021, subsidies don’t cover as much of enrollees’ premium in 2026, and are available to fewer people. This caused net premiums to increase by much more than the percentage increases that applied to full-price plans.

For perspective, here’s a summary of how average full-price premiums have changed over time for individual/family health insurance in Louisiana:

• 2015: Average increase of 12%¹⁵
• 2016: Average preliminary increase of 15.4%¹⁶
• 2017: Average increase of 26.8%¹⁷
• 2018: Average increase of 21.4%¹⁸
• 2019: Average decrease of 6.4%¹⁹
• 2020: Average increase of 11.7%²⁰
• 2021: Average increase of 6.9%²¹
• 2022: Average increase of 4.8%²²
• 2023: Average increase of 2.5%²³
• 2024: Average increase of 1.3%²⁴
• 2025: Average decrease of 7.9%²⁵

During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, 296,648 people enrolled in private health plans through the Marketplace in Louisiana.¹ Unlike most states, this was an increase from the year before, when 292,994 people enrolled through the Marketplace in Louisiana.²⁶ (Nationwide, enrollment dropped by about 5%)²⁷

Both the 2026 and 2025 enrollment numbers were much higher than enrollment had been in recent years, and new record high enrollments were set in Louisiana in both 2025 and 2026 (see chart below). Prior to 2025, the record high had been in 2016, just before Medicaid expansion took effect in Louisiana. (Medicaid expansion generally results in a decrease in Marketplace enrollment, as people with income between 100% and 138% of the poverty level transition from being eligible for Marketplace subsidies to being eligible for Medicaid.)

Source: 2014,²⁸ 2015,²⁹ 2016,³⁰ 2017,³¹ 2018,³² 2019,³³ 2020,³⁴ 2021,³⁵ 2022,³⁶ 2023,³⁷ 2024,³⁸ 2025²⁶ 2026¹

The enrollment growth in recent years is due in part to the subsidy enhancements created by the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those subsidy enhancements expired at the end of 2025, however, making Marketplace plans much less affordable in 2026.

And the enrollment growth for 2024 and 2025 was also partially due to the “unwinding” of the pandemic-era Medicaid continuous coverage rule. Louisiana Medicaid began to disenroll people from the program in mid-2023. CMS reported that more than 112,000 Louisiana residents transitioned from Medicaid to Marketplace coverage during the unwinding process.³⁹

HealthCare.gov
The official website where residents of Louisiana can shop for and buy health insurance plans that meet their needs. 

Department of Health & Hospitals
This is a governmental body responsible for health services and programs in Louisiana.

Louisiana Department of Insurance
The Louisiana Department of Insurance provides various resources related to health insurance, helping people understand their options and make informed choices.

Medicare Rights Center
A national organization that offers assistance and information about Medicare through its website and call center.

Louisiana Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIP)
Assists people on Medicare, providing information and guidance about their health insurance options.

Louisiana Department of Health – Medicaid
Oversees the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health coverage for eligible low-income individuals and families.