Medicare beneficiaries in Georgia will see some changes starting in November as the state overhauls its health insurance marketplace.

Currently, Georgia operates its health insurance marketplace on HealthCare.gov, but will soon launch a state-run platform called Georgia Access. The state announced the change this week, saying the new Georgia Access marketplace will go live on Nov. 1, coinciding with the 2025 open enrollment period.

“This milestone is the result of the extraordinary work our office has done over the past three years to free Georgia from dependence on the federal government for health insurance,” John F. King, fire marshal for insurance and safety, said in a statement.

“Georgia Access’ approach is innovative. It will be the first state-run exchange to partner with private sector companies to enroll consumers. This represents our commitment to expanding access to affordable, high-quality health insurance and reducing the number of uninsured Georgians.”

The new marketplace allows Georgia residents to search for and enroll in health insurance plans, with various agents and insurers listed on the platform.

“This is a major milestone in providing Georgia residents with the insurance they need,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement. “A state-run exchange will not only simplify the process for Georgia residents to get insurance, but it will also expand their insurance options and improve our ability to promote high-quality, affordable health insurance plans.”

Kemp said creating Georgia Access was a “top priority” of his administration. He signed the Patients First Act in 2019, which began the process of launching the new state-run marketplace. Under that law, Georgia was allowed to submit a waiver to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to create “innovative solutions” to the state’s health care problems.

In 2019, more than 1.3 million people in Georgia did not have health insurance, and 118 counties had a single-provider limit, according to the Insurance and Fire Commissioner.

Georgia filed the waiver on November 1, 2020, and received approval for a reinsurance program to reduce premiums and switch from the HealthCare.Gov portal to Georgia Access. More residents are likely to sign up for health insurance under Georgia Access than under the current system, and competing insurers could increase health insurance options for Georgians.

Alex Beene, a financial literacy professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said changes in health insurance options are generally viewed negatively, but this change is more of a technical change than anything else.

“In the past, Georgia residents had to use Healthcare.gov as a portal to access provider options in their state,” Beene said News week.

“This change will move those features to a new platform, Georgia Access, which will show residents all the health insurance options available to them, including prices. Ultimately, any type of marketplace will be valuable to health insurance policyholders, including those with Medicare.”

The new marketplace could mean that Georgia citizens can find more affordable options by easily presenting all health insurance plans to them.

“This makes it easier to compare prices and also to see the benefit differences between plans,” Beene said. “What can be a complicated process becomes less complicated for those looking for options.”