Answers · Ohio & Georgia
Does an ICHRA make sense for a Georgia employer?
In parts of Georgia yes, but not in metro Atlanta: Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb all sit at roughly $98 per employee per month, while Albany, Valdosta and Columbus clear $450.
Georgia inverts the usual pattern. Only about 42% of the state's population lives in a county where the gap reaches $200 per employee per month, and the counties with the widest gaps tend to be the least populated. Baker County is around $729 with a population under 3,000.
The Georgia markets where both the savings and a real employer base exist are Albany (Dougherty County, about $729), Valdosta (Lowndes, about $717), Rome (Floyd, about $627), Brunswick (Glynn, about $589), Warner Robins (Houston, about $532), Macon (Bibb, about $532), Columbus (Muscogee, about $465) and Savannah (Chatham, about $337).
If your company is in metro Atlanta, we will usually tell you the numbers do not justify the change, and that is the analysis doing its job.
Last reviewed 2026-08-21. Premium figures are plan year 2026 on both sides of every comparison, from the CMS Marketplace Public Use Files (individual market) and Ideon (small group). Employer counts from BLS QCEW 2024 Q2. All savings figures are ranges and estimates, not quotes or guarantees.
Related questions
Does an ICHRA work in metro Atlanta?
Usually not. Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb sit at roughly $98 per employee per month, below the $200 bar we use, so we will normally tell an Atlanta company the numbers do not justify a change.
Which Georgia markets do work?
Albany (Dougherty) at about $729, Valdosta (Lowndes) $717, Rome (Floyd) $627, Brunswick (Glynn) $589, Warner Robins (Houston) and Macon (Bibb) $532, Columbus (Muscogee) $465 and Savannah (Chatham) $337.
Why is Georgia weaker than Ohio?
Because the savings and the employers are in different places. About 42% of Georgia's population is in a qualifying county, against 100% in Ohio, and Georgia's widest gaps are in counties with very few mid-size employers.