Open Enrollment for 2027: The Dates, and the One That Actually Matters

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027, and December 15 is the cutoff for coverage that starts January 1. Enroll after that and your plan begins February 1.

Those dates come from healthcare.gov, and they are published, not provisional. You will still find sites telling you enrollment ends December 15 and others saying January 15, and neither is making it up. A 2025 federal rule would have ended enrollment on December 15; a court vacated that provision in June 2026, HHS appealed, and the appeal is still pending. CMS published the January 15 calendar regardless.

Here's what's actually known, what isn't, and — more usefully — what to do given the uncertainty.

The Start Date Is Settled: November 1, 2026

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage opens November 1, 2026 in all 31 states I'm licensed in. A small number of states outside that group start earlier or run different windows, but for AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI, and WY, November 1 is the date.

The Deadline Is Where It Gets Messy

A 2025 federal rule — the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule — shortened the open enrollment period, moving the federal deadline from January 15 to December 15. That's the source of every article you'll read saying December 15.

In June 2026, a court vacated that rule. Which is the source of every article saying January 15.

HHS appealed in July 2026 and the appeal is still pending. The published calendar has not moved while it is: healthcare.gov lists January 15 as the last day to enroll, and February 1 as the coverage start date for anyone enrolling between December 16 and January 15. (healthcare.gov, dates and deadlines, checked October 23, 2026.)

The Practical Answer: Treat December 15 as Your Deadline

This is the part worth taking away from all of it.

Enroll by December 15, 2026. Not because that's necessarily the legal deadline, but because December 15 is correct under either outcome. It guarantees January 1 coverage whether the rule is reinstated or not, and it means you never have to track how the appeal turned out.

If the deadline does extend to January 15, you've lost nothing by being early. If it doesn't and you waited, you've lost the ability to enroll at all until the following year — barring a qualifying life event. The asymmetry is obvious once you look at it: being early costs nothing, being late costs everything.

Seven of These States Set Their Own Dates

Federal deadlines don't automatically apply everywhere. States that run their own marketplace rather than using healthcare.gov set their own enrollment calendars, and several have historically run longer windows than the federal one.

Among the states I'm licensed in, seven operate their own marketplace:

• Colorado — Connect for Health Colorado
• Georgia — Georgia Access
• Illinois — Get Covered Illinois
• Kentucky — kynect
• Maryland — Maryland Health Connection
• Nevada — Nevada Health Link
• Virginia — Virginia's Insurance Marketplace

The other 22 use healthcare.gov. Georgia and Illinois both transitioned recently enough that a lot of published guidance still tells Georgians and Illinoisans to go to healthcare.gov — which is no longer where they enroll. If you're in one of those two states, that's worth knowing before November.

A Change That Caught People Off Guard This Year

Under the budget reconciliation law passed in July 2025, starting in 2026, people who enroll through a special enrollment period that isn't tied to a qualifying life event are no longer eligible for premium tax credits.

This matters because it removes a fallback. It used to be possible, in some circumstances, to enroll mid-year and still receive financial assistance. Now, if you miss open enrollment and don't have a genuine qualifying event — job loss, marriage, birth, moving, losing other coverage — you can potentially still buy a plan, but without a subsidy.

Which raises the cost of missing the window considerably. Another argument for December 15.

What to Do in October

The month before open enrollment is when the useful work happens. By the time November 1 arrives, you want decisions made, not research started.

• Project your 2027 income honestly. This determines your subsidy, and with the cliff back at 400% FPL, it determines whether you get one at all.
• Confirm your doctors and prescriptions. Networks and drug formularies change every year, quietly, and the notice is easy to miss.
• Do not plan to auto-renew. More on this below — it's the most expensive default available to you this year.
• Watch for your renewal notice. It arrives in October and shows next year's premium. That's your baseline, not your answer.
• Get quotes before November 1. Rates are public before enrollment opens. There's no reason to walk in cold.

Why Auto-Renewal Is Especially Risky This Year

If you do nothing, most marketplaces will roll you into the same or a similar plan. That sounds harmless. It usually isn't, and this year less than usual.

Your subsidy is calculated from the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area — the benchmark. When carriers reprice unevenly, the benchmark plan often changes. If the new benchmark is cheaper than last year's, your subsidy shrinks even if your own plan's price didn't move, and your out-of-pocket premium goes up for reasons that have nothing to do with your plan or your income.

After two consecutive years of double-digit rate changes, that reshuffling is close to guaranteed somewhere in your market. Auto-renewal doesn't just risk leaving money on the table; it can silently increase what you pay.

What 2027 Premiums Are Likely to Look Like

Early rate filings point to a median proposed increase of about 15% for 2027 — the second straight year of double-digit increases. Final rates are approved in late summer 2026, so the numbers you see in November will be firm. (Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.)

If you want the fuller explanation of what's driving that, I've broken down the 2026 increase and what carries into 2027 here.

And if you've just lost employer coverage, your 60-day special enrollment window matters more than any open enrollment date — see what to do between jobs.

The Bottom Line

November 1, 2026 is when it opens. The closing date is unresolved and may stay that way for a while. Enroll by December 15 and the question stops mattering to you.

If you're in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, or Virginia, check your state's own marketplace rather than assuming the federal calendar applies. And whatever you do, don't let the plan auto-renew without looking at it.

Book a free 20-minute call and I'll confirm your state's actual dates, project your subsidy for 2027, and tell you whether your current plan is still the right one.

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