Illinois left healthcare.gov, sets its own enrollment calendar, and banned short-term plans outright. Most guides you'll find are wrong on all three.
| Rate change | 2026: +28.8% approved · 2027: about +14.1% proposed |
|---|---|
| Where you enroll | Get Covered Illinois — not healthcare.gov |
| Open enrollment | November 1 – January 15, set by the state |
| Medicaid | Expanded, to 138% of the poverty level |
| Short-term plans | Prohibited statewide since January 1, 2025 |
Rate figures are approved 2026 plan year changes unless marked proposed. Proposed 2027 rates are carrier filings still under regulatory review — most states finalise in September and October, and approved rates routinely differ from filings. Ask me to confirm the current position for your county before you decide anything on these.
Two things happened at once, and together they make Illinois genuinely different from its neighbors.
First, Illinois became a full state-based marketplace for plan year 2026. Enrollment moved from healthcare.gov to Get Covered Illinois at getcovered.illinois.gov. The transition is recent enough that a lot of published guidance — including pages still ranking well in search — still tells Illinois residents to use the federal site. That's no longer where you go.
Running its own marketplace also lets Illinois set its own calendar rather than following the federal one. Open enrollment runs November 1 to January 15, and enrolling by December 15 is what secures coverage starting January 1. Illinois has moved these dates mid-season before — during the 2026 season it pushed the January 1 deadline to December 31 and later extended the close to January 31 — so treat any published date as provisional and confirm it before you rely on it.
Second, rates rose 28.8% before subsidies for 2026, driven by the expiration of the enhanced federal premium tax credits along with underlying medical costs.
Under Public Act 103-0649, short-term limited-duration plans have been prohibited in Illinois since January 1, 2025. They are not sold here at all.
That matters if you're between jobs or waiting on a start date, because the bridge option available in most states simply doesn't exist in Illinois. Your realistic paths are a Marketplace plan through a special enrollment period, COBRA, or a spouse's plan — and knowing that up front saves you two weeks of looking for something that isn't there.
About non-Marketplace coverage. Any non-Marketplace plan I price alongside your Marketplace options is medically underwritten — the application asks about your health history, and coverage can be declined, limited, or priced based on what it says. These plans are not ACA-compliant: pre-existing conditions may be excluded, and the essential health benefits guaranteed on every Marketplace plan are not automatic. If anyone in the household is managing a condition, an ACA plan’s guaranteed coverage is usually worth the premium difference, and I’ll tell you so even though it’s the less profitable answer for me.
For 2027 coverage, Marketplace premium tax credits end above $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a household of four. Below that line the subsidy is usually worth more than anything else available, and I'll tell you so. Above it, you're paying Illinois' full post-increase premium and it's worth looking at everything.
Illinois also expanded Medicaid, so adults under 138% of the poverty level have a real path here rather than a coverage gap.
Nothing. Brokers are paid a commission by the carrier, and it's built into the premium whether you use one or not — enroll direct and the carrier simply keeps it. The plan price is identical either way. There's a fuller explanation, along with my NPN, on the licensing page.
No. Illinois became a full state-based marketplace for plan year 2026. Enrollment now runs through Get Covered Illinois at getcovered.illinois.gov rather than healthcare.gov. Much published guidance is out of date on this because the transition is recent.
No. Under Public Act 103-0649, short-term limited-duration plans have been prohibited in Illinois since January 1, 2025 and are not sold in the state. Illinois residents between jobs generally choose between a Marketplace plan through a special enrollment period, COBRA, or a spouse's plan.
Open enrollment through Get Covered Illinois runs November 1 to January 15, and enrolling by December 15 secures coverage starting January 1. Illinois sets its own calendar and has adjusted it mid-season before — during the 2026 season it moved the January 1 deadline to December 31 and later extended the close to January 31. Confirm the current date with me before you rely on one.
My National Producer Number is 21388659. You can confirm it through the Illinois Department of Insurance or the National Insurance Producer Registry. I'd encourage it — you should never take a broker's word for their own credentials.
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