ACA Open Enrollment 2027: Dates, Deadlines and Subsidies

ACA open enrollment for 2027 coverage is the window to buy or change a Health Insurance Marketplace plan, also called Obamacare. It opens November 1, 2026 and the federal deadline is January 15, 2027 on HealthCare.gov.

Several state exchanges run longer, Idaho runs shorter, and more changed this year than usual: the enhanced subsidies are gone, premiums are rising again, and fewer immigrants qualify for help starting January 1, 2027.

Key Takeaways

• Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 in the 29 HealthCare.gov states, Texas and Florida included. Enroll by December 15 for coverage starting January 1.
• State exchanges differ: California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and DC close January 31, Virginia January 29, Massachusetts January 23, and Idaho December 15.
• The enhanced premium tax credits expired January 1, 2026, and the House-passed restoration has sat on the Senate calendar since February 10. For 2027, help is limited to incomes between 100% and 400% of the poverty line, $15,960 to $63,840 for one person.
• Insurers proposed a median 15% premium increase for 2027, and the out-of-pocket maximum rises to $12,000 for an individual and $24,000 for a family.
• Do not let your plan auto-renew blindly. The average premium payment rose 58% in 2026 when the enhanced credits ended, and deductibles jumped 37% as people shifted to bronze.

When is ACA open enrollment for 2027 coverage?

ACA open enrollment runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027 in the 29 states that use HealthCare.gov. It is the window for buying a 2027 Marketplace plan. HealthCare.gov lists three dates that matter. November 1 is the first day to enroll in, renew, or change a plan.

December 15 is the last day to pick a plan for coverage that starts January 1, 2027. January 15 is the last day of Open Enrollment, and coverage for late enrollees starts February 1. Coverage begins only after you pay your first premium.

State-run exchanges set their own calendars. For 2027 coverage, California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and DC close January 31, Virginia closes January 29, and Massachusetts closes January 23. Idaho opened October 15 and closes December 15. The state table below has each cutoff.

The name confuses people every fall. Searches for “ACA open enrollment 2026” and “open enrollment 2027” describe the same event. The window happens in late 2026, and the plans it sells start January 1, 2027. If a page says Open Enrollment “for 2026” ended January 15, 2026, it is describing last year’s window.

The Marketplace is also called Obamacare or the Exchange, and HealthCare.gov is its federal website. Every name points to the same thing: plans sold under the Affordable Care Act that qualify for premium tax credits.

Employer plans, Medicare, and Medicaid run on different calendars, and the Medicare Open Enrollment window overlaps this one from October 15 to December 7.

Did the deadline move to December 15?

No, not for 2027 coverage. A 2025 federal rule, the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule, would have ended Open Enrollment on December 15 in HealthCare.gov states starting with this window. It also would have capped every state’s window at nine weeks. The rule never took effect for enrollment dates.

A federal court in Maryland, in City of Columbus v. Kennedy, stayed parts of the rule in August 2025. On June 12, 2026 it vacated nine provisions, including the shorter window. HHS has appealed, and CMS confirmed in July and again on August 4 that HealthCare.gov runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027.

The practical advice does not change: treat December 15 as your real deadline. It is the last day to lock in January 1 coverage. Once Open Enrollment closes, a life event is the only way to switch plans mid-year. Waiting until January means a month without coverage or a month at your old plan’s 2027 price.

Key ACA Open Enrollment dates and deadlines for 2027 coverage

Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, and December 15 is the cutoff for January 1 coverage. Federal dates below come from HealthCare.gov.

State dates in this table come from each exchange’s own site, checked October 22, 2026. The Medicare window is included because many households manage both.

Date	What happens	Who it applies to
October 15 to December 7, 2026	Medicare Open Enrollment, a separate program with its own rules	People with Medicare
October 15, 2026	Your Health Idaho opened 2027 enrollment (closes December 15)	Idaho
October 23, 2026	Massachusetts Health Connector opens 2027 enrollment	Massachusetts
November 1, 2026	Open Enrollment starts on HealthCare.gov and in most state exchanges	Everyone else
December 15, 2026	Last day to enroll or change plans for coverage starting January 1	HealthCare.gov states and DC
January 1, 2027	Coverage starts for anyone who enrolled by their state’s cutoff and paid	Everyone
January 15, 2027	Open Enrollment ends on HealthCare.gov and in Oregon	HealthCare.gov states, Oregon
January 23 to 31, 2027	Later state deadlines (see the state table below)	MA, VA, CA, NY, NJ, RI, DC
February 1, 2027	Coverage starts for people who enrolled December 16 to January 15	HealthCare.gov states
January 16 to October 31, 2027	Special Enrollment Periods only, triggered by life events	HealthCare.gov states

ACA open enrollment deadlines in state-run exchanges

If your state runs its own exchange, its site sets the dates, not HealthCare.gov. CMS lists 21 states plus DC on their own platforms for 2027. These are the ones that differ from the federal calendar, each checked on the exchange’s own site.

State (exchange)	2027 Open Enrollment	Pick a plan by, for January 1 coverage
California (Covered California)	November 1 to January 31	December 31
New York (NY State of Health)	November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027	Check the exchange
New Jersey (Get Covered New Jersey)	November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027	Check the exchange
Rhode Island (HealthSource RI)	November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027	Check the exchange
District of Columbia (DC Health Link)	November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027	December 15, 2026
Virginia (Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace)	November 1 to January 29	December 31
Massachusetts (Health Connector)	October 23, 2026 to January 23, 2027	December 23
Idaho (Your Health Idaho)	October 15 to December 15	December 15
Oregon (Explore Health)	November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027	Check the exchange

Idaho is the trap in this list. Its window opened October 15 and closes December 15, a full month before the federal date, so an Idahoan who waits for the January 15 headline misses the year.

Oregon is new to this table. It left HealthCare.gov this fall, and Oregonians now shop and enroll through Explore Health, whose Plan Guide went live in October for early comparison. That leaves 29 states on the federal site for 2027.

Texas, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and the rest of the 29 HealthCare.gov states follow the federal calendar: January 15, 2027, with December 15 for a January 1 start.

Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and the other state-run exchanges not listed above post their own cutoffs, so check that site before relying on a national date.

What happens if you do nothing?

Most people are re-enrolled automatically. If you do not act by December 15, HealthCare.gov generally keeps you in the same plan for 2027, or a similar one if yours is discontinued. It re-applies your premium tax credit using the income on file.

Auto-renewal caught many people off guard in 2026. When the enhanced credits expired, the same plan came back with a much bigger bill. KFF found the average monthly premium payment rose 58% in 2026, from $113 to $178. The share of enrollees getting a tax credit fell from 92% to 87%, the first drop since 2020.

Deductibles moved even more. KFF reports the average deductible jumped 37%, from $2,759 to $3,786. It was the steepest rise the market has seen, because so many people traded down to bronze plans to hold their premium flat.

Doing nothing in 2026 rarely meant the same coverage at the same price, and 2027 starts from that higher base.

The other risk is your tax credit estimate. The Marketplace re-applies the income on file unless you update it, and a stale figure means a credit that is too big or too small, settled at tax time on Form 8962. Log in, update income and household size, and confirm the plan yourself.

Are ACA subsidies going away in 2027?

The enhanced subsidies are already gone; the original ones remain. Congress expanded premium tax credits in 2021 and extended them through 2025 under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Those enhancements expired on January 1, 2026, after no extension passed in December 2025, according to the Congressional Research Service and ASTHO.

The House voted 230 to 196 on January 8, 2026 to restore the enhanced credits for three years, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats. That bill, H.R. 1834, was placed on the Senate calendar on February 10 and has not moved since. As of October 22, 2026, no restoration is law.

What did move is the other direction. On October 14, Treasury and the IRS proposed regulations putting the 2025 budget law’s premium tax credit changes into effect, including its eligibility, verification, and immigration rules, per AHA News.

What “original rules” means in dollars: the credit caps what you pay for the benchmark silver plan at a share of income that rises with income.

It stops entirely above 400% of the poverty line. The 2021 to 2025 enhancements removed that cliff and cut the share at every income level. Both are back for 2027 unless Congress acts.

At $63,840, one dollar of extra income removes the entire credit. Under the expired enhancements, that same person paid no more than 8.5% of income, and people above 400% got help for the first time.

If Congress restores the credits late in the year, enroll now anyway; any difference is reconciled on your 2027 tax return.

What is the income limit for marketplace insurance in 2027?

For 2027 coverage, premium tax credits go to households with income between 100% and 400% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, per the IRS.

HHS published those guidelines on January 15, 2026: $15,960 for one person in the 48 contiguous states and DC, plus $5,680 for each additional person. Alaska and Hawaii use higher figures.

Household size	100% FPL (minimum)	150% FPL (best silver savings)	250% FPL (silver savings end)	400% FPL (credit ends)
1	$15,960	$23,940	$39,900	$63,840
2	$21,640	$32,460	$54,100	$86,560
3	$27,320	$40,980	$68,300	$109,280
4	$33,000	$49,500	$82,500	$132,000
5	$38,680	$58,020	$96,700	$154,720
6	$44,360	$66,540	$110,900	$177,440

Income means modified adjusted gross income for the whole tax household, projected for 2027, not last year’s W-2. In the states that expanded Medicaid, income under 138% of poverty means Medicaid rather than a premium tax credit; the Medicaid income limits guide has every state’s cutoff.

In the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid, per KFF’s count, most adults under 100% of poverty fall into a coverage gap: too poor for a premium tax credit and usually not eligible for Medicaid without a child or a disability.

Apply anyway, because the single application screens every program, and community health centers charge on a sliding scale.

Between 100% and 250% of poverty, a silver plan also carries cost-sharing reductions that lower your deductible and copays, with the richest version under 150%.

That is why counselors push silver for lower incomes even when bronze looks cheaper on the premium line. Above 250%, the silver discount disappears and the comparison is premium versus deductible.

How much will 2027 marketplace plans cost?

More, for the second year in a row. KFF’s August 3, 2026 analysis of 276 insurers in all 50 states and DC found a median proposed increase of 15% for 2027.

Last year insurers asked for a median 18% and regulators finalized 20%. Final 2027 rates are landing state by state this month. New Jersey, for one, approved a weighted average 19.8% increase for its individual market on October 15, above the national proposed median.

Insurers told regulators the drivers are rising prices for care, general inflation, and labor shortages. They also cite a sicker risk pool after the enhanced credits expired and healthier people dropped coverage.

That last driver compounds: fewer healthy enrollees in 2026 pushes 2027 premiums up, which pushes more people out.

Item	2026	2027	Source
Median premium change	+18% proposed, +20% final	+15% proposed (finals arriving by state)	KFF, Aug 2026
Out-of-pocket maximum, individual	$10,600	$12,000	CMS, Jan 29, 2026
Out-of-pocket maximum, family	$21,200	$24,000	CMS, Jan 29, 2026
Top share of income for benchmark silver (300% to 400% FPL)	9.96% (enhanced 8.5% cap ended)	10.22%	IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26
Enhanced premium tax credits	Expired January 1, 2026	Not restored as of Oct 22, 2026	CRS, Congress.gov

The out-of-pocket maximum is the ceiling on deductibles, copays, and coinsurance for in-network care in one year. CMS set it at $12,000 for self-only coverage and $24,000 for a family in 2027, up 13.2% from 2026. A bronze plan can sit right at that ceiling, so a $12,000 bad year is a real number, not a theoretical one.

Premiums also vary far more by county than the national median suggests. The only price that matters is yours, which is why the checklist below starts with window shopping rather than headlines.

How many people signed up for ACA plans in 2026, and why did enrollment drop?

About 23 million people picked a 2026 Marketplace plan during Open Enrollment, per the CMS national snapshot published January 28, 2026.

That includes 15.8 million through HealthCare.gov and 7.2 million through state marketplaces, with 3.4 million new customers. KFF puts the final total at 23.1 million, down from 24.2 million for 2025.

Signing up is not the same as staying covered. Effectuated enrollment, people who paid and held a plan, fell to 19.2 million in February 2026 from 22.1 million a year earlier.

That 2.9 million drop, or 13%, is the largest since the Marketplaces opened in 2014. KFF projects 2026 average enrollment near 17.5 million, possibly as low as 16.5 million.

Why the gap? Price is the main answer. A KFF survey in late February and early March 2026 found 9% of people with 2025 Marketplace coverage were uninsured. Another 17% of returning enrollees were unsure they could afford the year’s premiums. Those are the people most likely to be shopping again this fall.

What else changed for 2027 plans?

CMS finalized the 2027 payment rule on May 15, 2026, and re-finalized several pieces of the stayed 2025 rule.

Then, on July 16, 2026, the same Maryland court stayed several of the new provisions before they took effect, including expanded Special Enrollment Period verification. Loss-of-coverage events are still checked, so keep the layoff letter handy.

The same order stopped two bronze-and-catastrophic changes, per the CMS statement of August 4. Bronze plans cannot use the higher out-of-pocket limits the rule allowed, and catastrophic plans go back to the old eligibility rules: under 30, or 30 and older with a hardship exemption.

What survived matters more for shoppers. The monthly Special Enrollment Period for people under 150% of poverty, which let low-income households enroll any month of the year, ended in August 2025 and is not coming back for 2027.

If you are in that income band, Open Enrollment is your one shot unless a life event happens. Medicaid remains open year-round for those who qualify.

The rule also permanently drops the option for insurers to treat a slightly short premium payment as paid in full.

Two other pieces, tighter income verification and losing advance credits for skipping reconciliation, are on hold under the court order for 2027. The filing duty has not changed: file your return and Form 8962 every year you take a credit.

Two planned changes did not survive. The shortened Open Enrollment and the $5 minimum premium for people auto-renewed into a zero-dollar plan were among the provisions the court vacated on June 12, 2026. HHS has appealed that ruling, so the rules could shift again after this window closes.

Fewer immigrants qualify for 2027 savings

The biggest eligibility change for 2027 comes from the 2025 budget law, not a court. Starting January 1, 2027, HealthCare.gov says only three immigrant groups can get premium tax credits and extra savings: green card holders, Cuban or Haitian entrants, and Compact of Free Association migrants.

Refugees, asylees, people with Temporary Protected Status, and visa holders can still buy a Marketplace plan at full price, but the credit stops. If that is your household, compare the full-price bronze and silver options before your 2026 plan auto-renews at an unsubsidized rate.

Two states add their own help

Virginia and Rhode Island are using state money to soften the loss of the enhanced credits. Virginia Premium Savings goes to households between 138% and 250% of the poverty line who enroll through the state exchange, and Virginia says Open Enrollment is the main chance to get it.

Rhode Island’s new RIMAP program starts in January 2027 and is expected to help more than 20,000 current and former HealthSource RI customers. Both programs only apply to plans bought through the state exchange, not off-exchange.

How to enroll in a 2027 marketplace plan step by step

1. Window shop before November 1. HealthCare.gov’s plan preview shows plans and prices for your ZIP code without an account; Oregon’s Explore Health Plan Guide does the same there. Enter income and household size honestly; the estimate drives your credit.
2. Project 2027 income, not 2026. Use expected wages, self-employment profit, Social Security, and retirement withdrawals. Overstating income shrinks your monthly credit; understating it can mean repaying credits at tax time.
3. Check where you sit on the poverty table. Under 100% in an expansion state, apply for Medicaid. Between 100% and 250%, compare silver plans first for the cost-sharing reductions. Near 400%, know that a raise can erase the credit.
4. Compare total cost, not premium. Add 12 months of premium to the deductible and the out-of-pocket maximum. A bronze plan with a $12,000 ceiling can cost more in a bad year than silver with a $2,000 deductible.
5. Verify your doctors and drugs. Provider directories are often stale, so call the office and ask whether they take the specific 2027 plan. Check the formulary tier for every prescription you fill.
6. Enroll by your state’s January 1 cutoff and pay the first premium. That is December 15 on HealthCare.gov. Coverage does not start until the insurer receives payment. Save the confirmation number.
7. Report changes during the year. Income, marriage, a birth, or a move changes your credit. Updating as soon as it happens keeps the tax-time reconciliation small.

Free help exists. Marketplace Navigators and certified application counselors are listed on HealthCare.gov, and licensed agents can enroll you at no charge because the insurer pays their commission.

Be wary of anyone selling a “health plan” that is not on the Marketplace. Short-term and indemnity products are not ACA coverage and do not qualify for credits.

What if you miss the January 15 deadline?

After January 15 you need a Special Enrollment Period. HealthCare.gov lists the qualifying events: losing other coverage, moving, getting married, having or adopting a child, and a few others. Most give you 60 days from the event to enroll, and coverage generally starts the first of the month after you pick a plan.

Two doors stay open all year. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program accept applications any day. CHIP income limits reach well above Medicaid’s in most states, so a family earning too much for Medicaid may still cover the kids at little or no cost.

Turning 65 is the other exit. Once you are eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A, you generally lose eligibility for a premium tax credit, so time your Medicare sign-up carefully. The Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month, and Medicare has its own enrollment windows and late penalties.

If you live in California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, DC, Virginia, or Massachusetts, your window runs past January 15, so check the state table above before assuming you missed it.

Enrolling late still means coverage no earlier than February or March, and a gap month is a gap in which a hospital bill is entirely yours.

Which ACA deadline is actually yours?

Most people searching “ACA deadline” are holding the wrong date. January 15 is the last day to enroll on HealthCare.gov, but it buys February coverage. The date that keeps you covered without a gap is December 15 on HealthCare.gov and in DC, December 23 in Massachusetts, and December 31 in California and Virginia.

Idaho is the exception that bites: December 15 is its last day of all. Everyone else gets a second, later deadline that only matters if you missed the first one.

The other date to circle is the one on your renewal notice. If your insurer is leaving, your income moved, or your immigration status no longer qualifies for a credit in 2027, the plan that auto-renews will not be the plan you had. Log in before your January 1 cutoff, not after.

Related reading

• Medicaid: who qualifies and how to apply
• CHIP: low-cost coverage for children
• Earned Income Tax Credit: the other credit to claim on the same return