Michigan Approves 2027 Health Insurance Hikes Averaging 14.2% for Individual Plans as House Republicans Push a Hospital Price Package

Health premiums are rising again in Michigan, and the fight over costs is part of Tuesday's legislative races, Breitbart News reports.

The rates. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services approved 2027 increases that average 14.2% for individual plans and 9.6% for small business plans, according to the Midwesterner, which Breitbart cites. More than three quarters of a million people will see higher premiums under rates approved by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration, Breitbart says. In 2025 individual rates rose 20.2% and small business rates 11.1%, per the Detroit Free Press.

The range. Several carriers got individual increases near 11%, and others far more. The Midwesterner lists UnitedHealthcare Community Plan at 25.2%, Meridian at 24%, Molina at 22.4%, McLaren at 15.7%, Alliance Health and Life at 14.1%, Blue Cross Blue Shield Mutual at 12.8%, Health Alliance at 12.6% and Oscar at 11.9%. For small business plans, Blue Care Network got 10.7%, Blue Cross Blue Shield Mutual 7%, and Priority Health 11.6%, with UnitedHealthcare plans at 14.5% and 14.8%.

The insurers' reasons. Blue Cross's Bill Tuthill told the Free Press that an expected 10% rise in medical and drug costs drove the request. UnitedHealthcare cited higher hospital prices, more use of care and rising specialty drug costs.

The politics. Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the state House, have introduced four bills that would create a hospital pricing board, limit hospital prices and price increases, restrict hospital consolidation, and bar large systems from requiring physicians to sign non-compete agreements. The Midwesterner reports the package would also require nonprofit hospitals to cut prices by 10%. The Michigan Health & Hospital Association says it would "decimate access to care," especially in rural areas. Michigan Citizens for Better Health, which Breitbart ties to the association and says favors many Democratic lawmakers, is spending $2.5 million against GOP incumbents. Democrats control the state Senate.

Note for readers: the rate figures come from the Midwesterner and the Free Press as reported by Breitbart, and the group's ties to the association are Breitbart's description. The column is by a Breitbart contributor and frames the increases as a Democratic administration's doing. Insurers say the rates follow their costs, and the bills are proposals, not law.