Short answer: private health insurance in Illinois comes in two forms. The marketplace plans are themselves sold by private companies: six insurers sell plans on Get Covered Illinois for 2026, from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois to UnitedHealthcare. They come with tax credits and no health questions. Medically underwritten plans are the other form: they ask about your health, can decline you and get no credit, but a healthy buyer can often pay less, and one can start in any month. (Reviewed by Daniel Griffin, licensed independent advisor, NPN #22052447.)
Who Sells Marketplace Plans in Illinois
Get Covered Illinois lists 2026 marketplace plans from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Ambetter, MercyCare, Molina Healthcare, Oscar and UnitedHealthcare. Get Covered Illinois took over from HealthCare.gov as Illinois’s own exchange starting with 2026 coverage, serving all 102 counties. Not every insurer sells in every county.
What Illinois Plans Cost Before a Tax Credit
The average benchmark Silver premium for a 40-year-old in Illinois was $646 a month in 2026, before any tax credit (KFF).
Who Should Look Beyond the Illinois Marketplace
For 2027 coverage the tax credit stops at $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four. At Illinois’s 2026 benchmark, a single 40-year-old just over that line pays $7,752 a year, about 12% of income, before the 2027 increase. That is where a healthy household can save with a medically underwritten plan, which is priced on health, not income. It is not ACA coverage: it can decline you and usually excludes pre-existing conditions and maternity care. Leaving a job? See COBRA alternatives.
Networks: What to Check in Illinois
Get Covered Illinois shows each plan’s network type. Check whether a plan is an HMO, EPO or PPO, then check your doctors and hospital in that plan’s own network, not just the insurer’s name.
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2027 in Illinois
Illinois’s approved 2027 rates are an average 14.0% higher than 2026 (enrollment-weighted, reported Oct 15, 2026). Cigna leaves Illinois’s marketplace after 2026; anyone on its plans needs a new one for January. Open Enrollment on Get Covered Illinois opens November 1, 2026; check its deadline for coverage that starts January 1. Medically underwritten plans are not tied to that calendar. health insurance in Illinois.
Checking an Agent or a Plan in Illinois
The Illinois Department of Insurance licenses agents and insurers in Illinois: look up anyone selling you a plan, and get the insurer’s name and the list of what is not covered before you pay.
Common Questions
What is private health insurance in Illinois?
Two things. Private insurers sell Illinois marketplace plans on Get Covered Illinois, with tax credits and no health questions. Medically underwritten plans ask health questions, can decline you, get no tax credit and can start in any month.
Who should buy a medically underwritten plan in Illinois?
A healthy household that gets little or no tax credit: for 2027 coverage there is none above $63,840 for one person or $132,000 for a family of four. Anyone with a real health history, or planning a pregnancy, is usually better protected on the marketplace.
Are there PPO plans on the Illinois marketplace?
It depends on the insurer and the county. Get Covered Illinois shows each plan’s network type, so check it plan by plan.
Which insurers are leaving Illinois’s marketplace for 2027?
Cigna leaves Illinois’s marketplace after 2026; anyone on its plans needs a new one for January.
Sources
- KFF benchmark premiums, Illinois, 2026.
- Get Covered Illinois, 2026 insurers.
- Illinois 2027 rates and exits (Plans By State, from regulators and ACASignups.net).
- HealthCare.gov: tax credit income limits.
- Illinois Department of Insurance.
Full-price filed rates before tax credits, not quotes. Underwritten plans are not sold in every state and acceptance depends on health history.