HealthCare.gov Shoppers Must Pick a Plan by Dec. 15 for Coverage That Starts Jan. 1, and Open Enrollment Closes Jan. 15
Anyone who picks a HealthCare.gov plan after Dec. 15 will start 2027 without it: coverage begins Feb. 1 instead of Jan. 1. HealthCare.gov’s dates page says Dec. 15 is the last day to enroll in or change plans for coverage to start Jan. 1, and that Open Enrollment ends Jan. 15.
The site’s banner repeats the first date: “Enroll by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1.” The two deadlines split the season in half, and the gap between them matters for anyone counting on a plan to be active in the first month of the year.
What each date does
According to the HealthCare.gov dates and deadlines page, Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage started Nov. 1. Coverage starting Jan. 1 is for people who enroll or change plans by Dec. 15 and pay their first premium. People who enroll or change plans from Dec. 16 through Jan. 15 get coverage that starts Feb. 1, again after paying the first premium.
HealthCare.gov’s glossary defines the Open Enrollment Period as the yearly period, Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, when people can enroll in a Marketplace health insurance plan. After Jan. 15, the dates page says, enrolling or changing plans requires a Special Enrollment Period.
The quick guide adds that coverage will not start until the first premium is paid, if there is one, and that the payment goes to the insurance company directly, not to the Marketplace.
How to apply, and what every plan includes
The same quick guide lists six steps and several ways to apply: online, by phone, with community help, through an agent or broker, through certified enrollment partner websites, or with a paper application. It says all Marketplace plans include 10 essential health benefits, free preventive services from in-network providers and coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The guide links to a downloadable checklist of what an applicant needs to gather, but it does not list the documents on the page itself.
What is different about subsidies in 2027
The quick guide flags a law change that takes effect Jan. 1, 2027: starting then, only people with certain immigration statuses qualify for premium tax credits and cost-sharing discounts. Other immigration statuses may still qualify for Marketplace coverage without savings, the page says.
KFF, the health policy nonprofit, describes more changes in a Nov. 6, 2026 issue brief, “9 Things to Watch for the 2027 ACA Open Enrollment Period,” by Matt McGough, Rayna Wallace, Justin Lo, Kaye Pestaina and Cynthia Cox. It says enrollees with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level no longer qualify for premium tax credits, and that caps on repaying excess credits were eliminated beginning with the 2026 tax year. It also says people denied or removed from Medicaid solely for failing work requirements are ineligible for credits in applicable states starting in 2027.
HealthCare.gov’s lower-costs page says savings are based on an income estimate for the year coverage is wanted, not last year. It tells shoppers to start with household adjusted gross income, which appears on IRS Form 1040, line 11, then adjust for expected changes. Household size counts the applicant, a spouse if married and everyone claimed as a tax dependent, even those who do not need coverage.
Premiums and insurers for 2027
KFF reports that the average increase in finalized benchmark silver premiums for 2027 is 13%. States using HealthCare.gov see an 11% increase and state-run platforms see 16%. Most enrollees receive subsidies that will cushion the increases, according to the brief.
As of Oct. 29, 2026, KFF says, 11 carriers had announced plans to exit at least one state for 2027 and seven had announced plans to enter a new state. Cigna is leaving the individual market in all 11 states where it participates. The brief also says a rule that would have shortened Open Enrollment to nine weeks has been vacated.
Enrollment has been falling. KFF says 2026 Open Enrollment plan selections fell by 1.2 million from 2025, and it cites a Congressional Budget Office projection that Marketplace enrollment will drop from a peak of 22.4 million in 2025 to 13.1 million in 2027. For the premium side of the story, the site has a separate report on HealthCare.gov’s 2027 enrollment and the median 15% premium increase insurers proposed.
If the deadline is missed
After Jan. 15, a Special Enrollment Period is the main route. HealthCare.gov’s special enrollment page says most qualifying events carry a 60-day window. The list includes marriage, birth, adoption or foster placement, moving to a new ZIP code or county, and losing qualifying coverage in the past 60 days or expecting to lose it in the next 60.
Some events do not count. Voluntarily dropping COBRA does not qualify, and the page says moving only for medical treatment or staying somewhere for vacation does not qualify either. Applicants must attest that the application is true and may need to submit documents proving a loss of coverage. Medicaid and CHIP, by contrast, can be applied for at any time, according to the dates page.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Infrogmation of New Orleans – CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons
