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ACA Open Enrollment for 2027 Starts Sunday With a Possibly Earlier Deadline
To be covered on January 1, pick a plan by December 15 on HealthCare.gov. Whether you can still enroll into January depends on your state, and reports differ, so don't wait.
Open enrollment for 2027 health coverage through HealthCare.gov and state marketplaces begins Sunday, November 1. If you buy your own insurance, plan to pick a plan by December 15: that is the deadline for coverage starting January 1 on HealthCare.gov.
Whether the window stays open past December 15 is less clear than usual. A 2025 federal rule set a shorter enrollment period for 2027 coverage, ending no later than December 31, and several insurance sites list December 15 as the final deadline in HealthCare.gov states; others say a court blocked that change and that HealthCare.gov will again run through January 15. Check the official deadline for your state at HealthCare.gov or your state's marketplace, and treat December 15 as your target either way.
Before you renew automatically, compare: premiums and plans change every year, and prices for 2027 are expected to rise. Update your income estimate, since your premium tax credit depends on it, and check that your doctors and prescriptions are still covered. Free help is available from certified navigators through HealthCare.gov, and Medicare's separate open enrollment runs through December 7.
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