Your health insurance renewal went up again. Here's what Columbus employers can actually do about it.
Another year, another increase — and 2026 brought the biggest one in 15 years. Before you sign, absorb the hit, or shift more cost onto your team, there's a Franklin County-specific option most Columbus companies have never actually priced: comparable individual-market plans here run an estimated $484–$885/mo less per employee than the small group market (2026 plan-year rates).
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Why your renewal keeps going up — and why waiting won't help
This isn't your broker's fault, and it isn't unique to your company. Employer group health costs rose 6.7% in 2026 — the biggest jump in 15 years, per Mercer's National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. And the outlook is worse: Mercer and PwC project 2027 to bring the highest increase in 17 years, while ACA individual-market insurers have filed a median 15% increase for 2027, per KFF.
The usual playbook — shop carriers, raise deductibles, trim the network — negotiates around the increase without changing the baseline. Rising costs hit both markets, but they don't close the structural price gap between them in counties that have one.
The 2027 figures above are filed and projected increases reported as news context only. Every savings estimate on this page uses final 2026 plan-year rates on both sides — no projections are included in the math.
The option most Columbus companies haven't actually priced
Instead of renewing one group policy, an Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) lets your company give each employee a fixed, tax-free monthly allowance to buy their own ACA marketplace plan. The tax treatment mirrors group insurance. What makes it interesting is entirely local: Franklin County's individual marketplace is unusually competitive relative to its small group market — an estimated 59.6% gap at the bronze age-27 comparison, one of the widest of any US county for plan year 2026.
If your renewal lands in the next 0–3 months, now is the time to run the numbers — not after you've signed. A renewal signature commits your baseline, plus the increase, for another 12 months. Pricing the alternative first costs 30 seconds and nothing else.
Franklin County 2026: small group vs individual, same tier, same age
Lowest-cost plan on each market. Plan year 2026 on both sides. All figures are estimates.
| Tier / age | Small group | Individual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze, age 27 | $810/mo | $326/mo | $484/mo |
| Silver, age 27 | $872/mo | $352/mo | $520/mo |
| Gold, age 27 | $933/mo | $436/mo | $498/mo |
| Bronze, age 50 | $1381/mo | $555/mo | $825/mo |
| Silver, age 50 | $1486/mo | $600/mo | $885/mo |
| Gold, age 50 | $1591/mo | $743/mo | $848/mo |
Estimates from CMS Marketplace Public Use Files (individual) and Ideon (small group), plan year 2026, Franklin County OH. Both sides always the same plan year. Not a quote; actual costs depend on census and plan selection.
What one more renewal cycle costs — vs pricing the alternative
Illustration: a 75-employee Columbus company contributing $800/mo per employee spends about $720,000 a year on health benefits — and signing a typical renewal means committing that baseline, plus the increase, for another 12 months. At Franklin County's 2026 per-employee difference of $484–$885/mo (capped by what you actually contribute), companies like yours could see an estimated annual opportunity well into six figures — money a renewal signature leaves on the table for another year.
Our promise: the analysis is free — we run your real census against real county rates on both markets. If the numbers don't work for your company, we tell you to keep your group plan. About a third of the companies we analyze should.
Illustrative estimate based on county-level 2026 market data — not a quote or guarantee, and not every employer achieves it. Actual results depend on your employee census, ages, family composition, plan design, and contribution strategy.
Renewal FAQs for Franklin County employers
Why did my business health insurance renewal go up in 2026?
You're not being singled out. Employer group health costs rose 6.7% in 2026 per Mercer's National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans — the largest annual increase in 15 years — driven by medical inflation, higher utilization, and specialty drug costs (notably GLP-1s). Renewals compound: a plan that rises 6–8% every year roughly doubles in a decade, which is why the same coverage keeps costing more even when your workforce hasn't changed.
What can a company do about a 15% health insurance increase?
Beyond the usual levers — shopping carriers, raising deductibles, shifting costs to employees — the option most companies never price is exiting the group market entirely. An ICHRA (Individual Coverage HRA) lets you give each employee a fixed tax-free monthly allowance to buy their own ACA marketplace plan. In counties where individual plans cost far less than group plans, that can reset your baseline instead of negotiating around it. Whether it works depends on your county's market economics and your employee census.
Is it cheaper to drop group health insurance and use an ICHRA in Columbus, Ohio?
In Franklin County specifically, 2026 plan-year data shows the lowest-cost individual-market plan runs an estimated $484–$885/mo less per employee than the lowest-cost small group plan at the same metal tier and age. Companies like yours could see meaningful savings — but not every employer does. Actual results depend on your employee census, ages, family composition, plan design, and contribution strategy. That's why we built a county-specific calculator instead of quoting one number.
Will health insurance renewals be higher in 2027?
Projections say yes. Mercer and PwC both project 2027 to bring the highest employer health benefit cost increase in 17 years, and ACA individual-market insurers have filed a median 15% increase for 2027 per KFF. Those are filings and projections, not final rates — but they suggest waiting for a better renewal is unlikely to pay off. Note: the savings estimates on this page use 2026 plan-year rates on both sides and do not include any projected 2027 increases.
How do I compare my group renewal quote to individual market rates in Franklin County?
Compare the same metal tier, age, county, and plan year on both sides. For plan year 2026 in Franklin County, individual-market premiums come from the CMS Marketplace Public Use Files and small group benchmarks from Ideon — for example, a silver plan for a 50-year-old runs about $1,486/mo on the small group market vs $600/mo on the individual market. Our calculator applies this tier-by-tier data to your headcount and current contribution in about 30 seconds.
Methodology: Individual-market premiums are the lowest-cost plan by metal tier and age from the CMS Marketplace Public Use Files, plan year 2026. Small group premiums are the lowest-cost plan for the same tier, age, and county from Ideon. Both sides of every comparison use the same plan year (2026); figures are estimates and no individual employer outcome is implied. National cost-trend figures (2026 increase, 2027 projections and filings) are cited separately to Mercer's National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, PwC, and KFF as news context and are never included in savings estimates.
Last updated: August 16, 2026 · Plan-year 2026 data, same year both markets. Sources: CMS Marketplace Public Use Files (individual market) · Ideon (small group) · BLS QCEW 2024 Q2 (employment).
Before you sign another 12 months, spend 30 seconds on the number.
No contact info needed for the estimate. Free census analysis if you want the actual figure — and an honest 'keep your group plan' if that's the answer.
Rate data: CMS Marketplace PUF + Ideon, plan year 2026, same plan year on both sides. 2027 filings (KFF) and 2026 trend (Mercer) cited as news context only.
See what your company could save
County-specific 2026 numbers, about 30 seconds, no contact info needed.
How many employees do you have?
See What My Company Could Save →30-second estimate. No contact info needed.