Health Insurance - Individual Market Stabilization - Establishment of the State-Based Health Insurance Subsidies Program

New help with Maryland health premiums

Effective June 1, 2025, the law creates premium help for people buying individual health plans in Maryland. Assistance covers 2026–2027, targeting people whose required premium share rises because federal tax credits shrink compared with 2025. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange sets eligibility and payment amounts, subject to available money and Board approval. It consults the Insurance Commissioner and considers enrollment uncertainty and funding needed to keep the market stable through 2028. The Exchange can use its Fund for subsidies in fiscal years 2026–2028. With legal exceptions, designated assessment money can fund only reinsurance and these subsidies; this creates no new household payment duty. The Exchange must publish monthly spending, recipient counts, average assistance, and effects on insurance rates. The subsidy provisions expire June 30, 2028, or earlier if federal premium tax credits are extended for both 2026 and 2027.