# Connecticut approved different 2027 increases for individual and small-group coverage Canonical reader page: https://ichrareport.com/news/connecticut-2027-individual-small-group-rates/ Publisher: ICHRA Report Originally published: 2026-09-14 Substantively updated: 2026-09-14 Sources checked: 2026-09-14 Data period: Connecticut CID decision · September 11, 2026 [Home](https://ichrareport.com/) [News](https://ichrareport.com/news/) Connecticut approved different 2027 increases for individual and small-group coverage State market rates Connecticut approved different 2027 average increases for individual and small-group coverage. Use the paired decision to reopen a local comparison without treating either percentage as an ICHRA cost result. At a glance Evidence **Sourced state-market reporting** Event / data period **Connecticut CID decision · September 11, 2026** Review cutoff **September 14, 2026** By [ICHRA Report](https://ichrareport.com/about/) · Published September 14, 2026 What changed On September 11, 2026, Connecticut approved average 2027 increases of 11.3% for individual plans and 15.1% for small-group plans. The department had received requests for 16.2% and 17.8%, respectively. The paired decision is useful evidence for comparison, but it is not proof that an ICHRA costs less than group coverage. [source](https://portal.ct.gov/cid/press-releases/2026-press-releases/2026-09-11-health-insurance-rate-decision-for-2027) ## What Connecticut approved The Connecticut Insurance Department finalized rate decisions for fully insured individual and small-group plans, both on and off the exchange. It reviewed five filings from four insurers and reported that its changes reduced projected premiums by more than $100 million compared with the requested rates. The department's approximately 220,000 enrollment figure combines the two markets; it is not the denominator for either percentage. [source](https://portal.ct.gov/cid/press-releases/2026-press-releases/2026-09-11-health-insurance-rate-decision-for-2027) ## Why the paired decision is useful Because the same regulator finalized both markets at the same time, the decision gives a small employer a concrete starting point for asking how its renewal market is moving. The individual and small-group percentages still describe different products, populations and rating structures. They cannot be compared as if they were two quotes for the same workforce. ## How this connects to ICHRA An ICHRA comparison depends on the local individual-market plan available to each employee, the employer's contribution and the affordability analysis. HealthCare.gov points to the employee's self-only lowest-cost Silver premium as one of the inputs. A state average can tell you why a refresh is timely; it cannot supply that employee-level number. [source](https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/learn-more/individual-coverage-hra/) The 2027 federal required contribution percentage is 10.22%. Keep that federal threshold separate from Connecticut's market averages. [source](https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-31_irb) ## A better comparison for a small employer Build the comparison with the same workforce assumptions on both sides: employee locations and ages, current group renewal cost, proposed contribution classes, local lowest-cost Silver premiums, expected employee premium remainder, administrator fees, network needs and implementation work. The useful output is a range of scenarios with dated inputs, not a single claim that one coverage structure always wins. The [total-cost guide](https://ichrareport.com/guides/ichra-total-cost/), [evaluation brief](https://ichrareport.com/tools/ichra-readiness/) and [2027 planning outlook](https://ichrareport.com/research/ichra-2027-planning-outlook/) provide the next worksheets for that work. ## What this decision does not prove It does not establish that ICHRA is cheaper than a Connecticut small-group plan, that every county or age will move by the market average, or that 2027 lowest-cost Silver premiums changed by 11.3%. It also does not establish a national ICHRA trend. Those questions require plan-level and employee-level data. ## What employers should collect next - the group renewal proposal and plan-year dates; - employee rating areas, ages and classes; - dated local lowest-cost Silver benchmarks; - the 2027 contribution and affordability method; - administrator fees, enrollment workflow and employee support responsibilities. ### Practical conclusion Connecticut's paired rate decision is a useful market checkpoint. Use it to reopen the comparison and gather local plan evidence, then let the workforce model—not the headline percentages—drive the decision. ## Sources and evidence [1 Connecticut Insurance Department — 2027 health insurance rate decisions for individual and small-group plans The September 11, 2026 decision reports average approved increases of 11.3% for individual plans and 15.1% for small-group plans, compared with 16.2% and 17.8% requested. The approximately 220,000 enrollment figure combines both markets. Source reviewed 2026-09-14](https://portal.ct.gov/cid/press-releases/2026-press-releases/2026-09-11-health-insurance-rate-decision-for-2027)[2 HealthCare.gov — Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements Federal overview of ICHRA contributions, employee classes, class-size minimums, affordability, and implementation timing. Source reviewed 2026-09-11](https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/learn-more/individual-coverage-hra/)[3 Internal Revenue Service — Revenue Procedure 2026-26 Section 3.02 sets the required contribution percentage at 10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027. Section 5 establishes the effective period. Source reviewed 2026-09-11](https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-31_irb) Review dates are recorded for each source above. Company pages are useful for confirming how a product is described, but they do not prove service quality or customer results.