If you own or manage a small business in Indiana, you’ve probably felt the whiplash of the health-insurance market. Prices keep climbing, carriers keep shifting, and plans that worked a year ago may no longer exist. Heading into 2026, the Indiana small-group health insurance market has gone through some big changes that every employer should understand.
Indiana Small-Group Health Insurance Market Shift
Early in 2025, Indiana small businesses still had a familiar set of health plan options. Within months, that picture changed.
A long-standing carrier was sold and consolidated, pulling its plans off the market; rates with the remaining carriers kept rising; and a key association plan ended a major insurer partnership.
Those shake-ups opened the door to new products and partnerships—some from well-known names with new structures, others completely new to most employers. In short, the menu of choices is different, and so are the price dynamics.
What’s New in Indiana Small-Group Health Insurance & What to Watch
Today’s Indiana market looks different from just a year ago. Employers now face three main categories of coverage, each with distinct advantages and challenges. Understanding these differences is essential to controlling costs and keeping employees covered.
Here are how the three primary options break down:
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- ACA (Affordable Care Act) Plans: Reliable and widely available, but often the most expensive.
- Level-Funded Plans: Structured like insurance but partly self-funded, offering potential first-year savings with less predictable long-term costs.
- Chamber Care: A statewide multiple-employer plan through the Indiana Chamber and SIHO that combines broad provider access with competitive pricing.
Each path meets basic requirements, but the pros and cons are significant. Employers should look closely at stability, long-term cost trends, and how well each option fits their workforce.
Risks of Waiting Until Renewal
Many employers wait for their renewal notice before exploring alternatives, but in today’s shifting market that delay can be expensive. Acting early gives you more time to research more cost-effective alternatives without worrying about the time crunch of a close deadline.
If you wait until the renewal is in hand, you’re left with only a few weeks to evaluate alternatives. That creates three big problems:
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- Sticker Shock: 30% to 50% premium jumps are common.
- Rushed Decisions: You have limited time to evaluate alternatives if you wait until the renewal is in hand.
- Lost Leverage: You can’t compare or negotiate effectively under a tight deadline.
Exploring options early gives you time to see side-by-side costs, understand risks like sudden cost spikes with level-funded plans, and avoid scrambling when your renewal arrives.
The Indiana small-group health insurance market is changing fast. New partnerships and plan structures create opportunities to save and improve coverage but only if you act before your renewal notice lands. Taking time now to review ACA, Chamber Care, and level-funded plans side by side can help you control costs, protect employees, and find a plan that truly fits your business for 2026.
Please let us know if you have any questions. We understand that local companies have unique needs that most national firms don’t consider or struggle to identify. This leaves your people with a less effective, one-size-fits-all benefits plan. However, our ability to cater to the needs of our clients comes from decades of client partnerships. This perspective allows us to fully address unique needs and generate creative benefits plans.
You shouldn’t have to worry about just being a number, offering a generic plan, or getting the unique support you need. Call us today.
This Benefits Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as professional advice.