Quick Answer: ACA open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 in most states. If you have seen December 15 quoted as the end date, that is out of date. A 2025 federal rule would have shortened the window, but a judge vacated it in June 2026, and CMS confirmed on August 4, 2026 that HealthCare.gov states keep the January 15 deadline. December 15 still matters: it is the cutoff for coverage starting January 1. Enrol between December 16 and January 15 and your coverage starts February 1. Insurers have proposed a median premium increase of 14% for 2027, on top of a 20% median rise in 2026.
ACA open enrollment 2027 dates, and why you may have seen the wrong ones
There is genuine confusion on this, and a lot of articles published earlier in 2026 have the wrong deadline. Here is what actually happened.
In June 2025, HHS finalised a rule that would have shortened open enrollment. Under it, the window in HealthCare.gov states would have ended on December 15, state-run marketplaces could not have run past December 31, and the February 1 coverage start date would have disappeared entirely.
That rule was vacated by a federal judge in the District of Maryland on June 12, 2026, which stopped the shorter window from taking effect. HHS appealed in July, and oral arguments are scheduled for late October 2026. Then, in a statement dated August 4, 2026, CMS clarified that open enrollment in HealthCare.gov states will run from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027.
So the schedule for 2027 coverage is the familiar one. What is not settled is what happens in future years, because the appeal is still live. If it succeeds, the shorter window could return for the autumn 2027 enrollment period.
| Date | What it means |
|---|---|
| November 1, 2026 | Open enrollment opens in most states |
| December 15, 2026 | Deadline to pick a plan starting January 1 |
| January 1, 2027 | Coverage begins for December enrollees |
| January 15, 2027 | Open enrollment closes in most states |
| February 1, 2027 | Coverage begins for those who enrolled December 16 to January 15 |
Three states open earlier than November 1. Idaho starts on October 15. Connecticut and Massachusetts both start on October 23.
The two deadlines people confuse
This trips up a lot of people every year, so it is worth stating plainly.
December 15 is not the end of open enrollment. It is the last day to choose a plan that starts on January 1. Miss it and you can still enrol, but your coverage will not begin until February 1, leaving you uninsured for the whole of January.
That January gap is not theoretical. If you have a prescription to fill, a scheduled procedure, or an accident in January, you pay the full undiscounted price. For anyone with ongoing medication or a planned appointment, December 15 is the deadline that actually matters.
January 15 is the true close. After that, you can only enrol if you qualify for a special enrollment period triggered by a life event such as losing job-based coverage, moving, marrying, or having a baby.
State-run marketplace deadlines
If your state runs its own marketplace rather than using HealthCare.gov, your deadline may be later. Here is what state exchanges had announced as of August 2026.
| Deadline | States |
|---|---|
| December 15 | Idaho |
| December 31 | Rhode Island |
| January 15 | Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington |
| January 23 | Massachusetts |
| January 29 | Virginia |
| January 31 | California, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York |
These dates were still being confirmed through August, so check your own state marketplace before relying on a later deadline. If your state is not listed, you most likely follow the November 1 to January 15 federal schedule.
Why premiums are rising again for 2027
Across 77 insurers with publicly available rate filings, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to analysis from KFF and the Peterson Center on Healthcare covering 16 states and Washington DC. If approved, that would be the second-highest increase since 2018.
It follows a median increase of 20% for 2026. Two consecutive years of double-digit rises is the core story here.
Insurers gave several reasons in their filings. Rising costs across the healthcare sector, covering hospital visits, prescription drugs and workforce costs, were the largest factor. General inflation added pressure. Federal regulatory changes, including new eligibility and enrolment requirements, created uncertainty, particularly because a CMS rule was not finalised until after some insurers had already set proposed rates.
But the biggest structural driver is what happened to subsidies.
The enhanced premium tax credits introduced in 2021 expired at the end of December 2025. When they lapsed, the amount people actually paid jumped sharply, with average premium payments after subsidies rising 58% in 2026. Many healthier enrollees responded by leaving the marketplace altogether. That left behind a smaller, sicker and more expensive group to cover, which pushes premiums up further for everyone remaining. Insurers are pricing 2027 with that deterioration baked in.
Who this hits hardest
The impact is very uneven, and where you fall depends almost entirely on your income relative to the federal poverty level.
If you receive a subsidy, and 87% of marketplace enrollees did in 2026, you are partly shielded. Subsidies are pegged to the cost of a benchmark silver plan in your area, so when premiums rise, subsidies generally rise alongside them. Your own payment may not move much, though as explained below, that protection often depends on being willing to switch plans.
If you earn above 400% of the federal poverty level, you are the group facing the sharpest increases. With the enhanced tax credits gone, many people just above that line lost subsidy eligibility entirely and now pay the full premium. For them, a 14% increase lands in full, on top of whatever they absorbed in 2026. The cumulative effect over two years is severe.
This is why the 400% threshold has become the single most consequential number in marketplace coverage. Income just above it can mean paying thousands more per year than income just below it.
Why auto-renewing is usually the expensive choice
If you do nothing, HealthCare.gov will generally re-enrol you into your current plan, or something similar if yours has been discontinued. That sounds convenient. It is frequently costly.
Plans change every year. Networks shift, formularies get rewritten, deductibles move, and the benchmark plan your subsidy is calculated against may change entirely.
That last point deserves emphasis. Because subsidies are tied to the benchmark silver plan in your area, if your current plan rises faster than the benchmark, your out-of-pocket premium goes up even though your subsidy technically increased. Analysts have pointed out that many people will need to switch plans simply to keep their payment roughly where it was. Staying put is an active choice with a price attached.
The plan that was the best value in 2026 may not be in 2027, and finding that out takes about twenty minutes.
A checklist before November 1
Confirm your income estimate
Your subsidy is based on your projected income for 2027. Get it wrong and you either overpay all year or face a reconciliation bill at tax time. If your income changed in 2026, or you are self-employed with variable earnings, this is the single most important input to get right.
For self-employed people and small business owners, this is also worth reviewing alongside how you pay yourself, since that determines the income figure you report. Our comparison of the best payroll software for small business covers the tools that make that number easier to track.
List your prescriptions and doctors
Write down every medication with dose, plus every doctor and specialist you see. Formularies and networks change annually. This list is what makes plan comparison meaningful rather than a premium-only guess.
Compare total cost, not premium
Add twelve months of premium, plus the deductible, plus expected copays for your actual medications. A bronze plan with a low premium and a high deductible can easily cost more across a year than a silver plan for someone who uses healthcare regularly.
Check whether you qualify for cost-sharing reductions
If your income falls in the right band, silver plans can come with substantially reduced deductibles and copays. This benefit is only available on silver plans, so choosing bronze to save on premium can mean giving up a much larger saving elsewhere.
Use free help
HealthCare.gov and state marketplace sites let you enter your drug list and compare real costs. Navigators and certified assisters offer free help with no commission attached. You never pay a fee to enrol in a marketplace plan.
Diarise December 15
Not January 15. If you want coverage from January 1, December 15 is your date.
If you miss the window
After open enrollment closes, you can only enrol with a special enrollment period, triggered by a qualifying life event. The common ones are losing other coverage, moving to a new area, getting married, having or adopting a child, or certain changes in Medicaid or CHIP eligibility.
These generally come with a limited window, often 60 days from the event, and you usually need documentation. If you think you qualify, act quickly rather than assuming you have time.
If you are approaching 65, note that Medicare works on an entirely separate calendar with different rules. Its enrollment period runs October 15 to December 7, which we cover in our guide to Medicare open enrollment for 2027. If you are retiring before 65 and bridging the gap with a marketplace plan, our breakdown of the 2027 Social Security COLA covers the income side of that transition.
Watch out for enrollment season scams
Open enrollment brings a predictable surge in fraudulent calls and websites. Nobody legitimate needs to pressure you into deciding today, and the official marketplace will not cold-call you demanding payment details.
Enrol through HealthCare.gov or your state’s official marketplace directly, rather than through a link in an unsolicited message. Be particularly wary of sites that look official but charge a fee, because enrolling is always free. If you are concerned about your details already being exposed, our comparison of the best identity theft protection services covers monitoring options.
Frequently asked questions
When does ACA open enrollment start for 2027?
November 1, 2026 in most states, running through January 15, 2027. Idaho opens October 15, and Connecticut and Massachusetts open October 23. Several state-run marketplaces have later closing dates.
Is the deadline December 15 or January 15?
Both, for different purposes. December 15, 2026 is the last day to select a plan that begins January 1, 2027. January 15, 2027 is when open enrollment actually closes in most states. Enrol in between and coverage starts February 1.
Why do some websites say enrollment ends December 15?
Because a 2025 federal rule would have shortened the window, and many articles were written while that rule was expected to apply. A judge vacated it in June 2026 and CMS confirmed in August 2026 that the January 15 deadline stands for 2027 coverage.
How much are ACA premiums going up in 2027?
Insurers have proposed a median increase of 14%, based on preliminary filings analysed by KFF. That follows a 20% median increase for 2026. Your actual change depends on your state, your plan and whether you receive a subsidy.
Will my subsidy go up too?
Probably, since subsidies are tied to the benchmark silver plan and rise with premiums. But that does not guarantee your payment stays flat. If your specific plan rises faster than the benchmark, you may need to switch plans to keep your cost stable.
What happens if I do nothing?
You will usually be auto-renewed into your current plan or a similar one. That is rarely the cheapest outcome, because premiums, networks, formularies and the benchmark plan all change annually.
The bottom line
Two things make this enrollment period unusually important. The deadline is not what many published guides say it is, and premiums are rising by double digits for a second consecutive year while the enhanced subsidies that softened the blow are gone.
The practical response is straightforward. Confirm your state’s actual deadline, get your income estimate right, and compare plans on total annual cost rather than monthly premium. If you want cover from day one of the year, work backwards from December 15, not January 15.
Rising fixed costs are the wider backdrop here, and the same pressure shows up across household budgets, as our explainer on why phones and laptops keep getting more expensive sets out. If health premiums are squeezing things, other recurring bills are usually where the slack is, and our guides to the best cell phone plans in 2026 and the best budgeting apps are reasonable places to start.
This article is general information, not insurance advice, and blogmind360 is not affiliated with HealthCare.gov, any state marketplace or any insurer. The 14% figure reflects preliminary rate filings and final approved rates may differ. Confirm current dates, plans and prices at HealthCare.gov or your state marketplace before enrolling.