Maryland's preliminary 2027 plan lineup: an unchanged count can hide changing choices

By ICHRA Report · Published September 22, 2026

What Maryland published

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange posted the nine-page “2027 Individual Market Qualified Health Plan Landscape” with materials for its September 21 board meeting. Its cover labels the 2027 information as pending rate and form approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration. ^{source source}

That status controls how the numbers should be used. They describe the Exchange's current presentation of the proposed lineup. They should be rechecked against final approvals before a renewal decision or a claim about the final 2027 market.

What changed inside the 43-plan total?

The plan-count table reports 43 qualified health plans in both years. It also says CareFirst added a gold plan, Kaiser discontinued its platinum plan for 2027, and the number of UnitedHealthcare and Wellpoint plan offerings did not change. An unchanged total can therefore coexist with changes in metal levels and carrier-specific choices. ^source

The presentation also lists CareFirst, UnitedHealthcare and Wellpoint as statewide for 2027. Kaiser is shown in selected counties, with partial service areas in Charles, Calvert and Frederick counties. A statewide total cannot tell a particular employee which plans are available at the employee's address.

Why this matters for an ICHRA employee

ICHRA does not create an insurance network or plan menu. It supplies employer reimbursement under the arrangement's terms; the employee obtains qualifying individual coverage. The employee's experience depends on the plans, networks, prescriptions and premiums available locally.

A stable statewide plan count does not establish stable choice for every employee. One plan can enter one metal level while another leaves; a carrier can serve only part of a county; and a network or formulary can change without altering the plan count.

What can the deductible table tell us?

The presentation reports ranges of deductibles and actuarial values by carrier and metal level. Those ranges can identify questions to investigate, but they are not matched renewal results for a specific person or plan. They do not show the employee's total expected spending, provider access or prescription coverage. ^source

One actuarial-value cell in the published presentation appears malformed. This report does not correct or reuse that value. A source error should remain visible as an unresolved source limitation until the publisher supplies a corrected record.

What the presentation cannot establish

• final approval of every 2027 plan, rate or form;
• the 2027 premium for a particular age and location;
• the lowest-cost Silver premium used for an ICHRA affordability analysis;
• whether an employee's doctors or prescriptions remain covered;
• whether Maryland ICHRA participants will pay more or less in 2027.

Use the network and prescription checklist and costs-beyond-premiums analysis after the final plan documents become available. The 2027 planning outlook keeps this preliminary inventory separate from approved market averages.

What to verify before enrollment

1. Confirm final carrier participation and the exact plans available at the employee's address.
2. Record the plan ID, premium, metal level and plan year.
3. Check doctors, hospitals, prescriptions, deductible and out-of-pocket maximum in the current plan documents.
4. Run the affordability analysis with the applicable local Silver benchmark and employer contribution.
5. Preserve the source and review date so preliminary figures can be replaced when final records arrive.

Sources and evidence

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.