Open Enrollment 2027 Dates: Nov 1, Dec 15, Jan 15 and What to Do

As of October 2026, Open Enrollment for 2027 health plans on healthcare.gov runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Enroll by December 15 and your plan starts January 1. Enroll December 16 to January 15 and it starts February 1.

If your state runs its own exchange, like Georgia Access, Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace or Get Covered Illinois, you enroll on that site instead, and the last day can be different. The list for my states is further down.

I recommend treating December 15 as your real deadline, especially if your current plan ends December 31. It’s the date that keeps January covered.

| Date | What happens | Coverage starts | |—|—|—| | November 1, 2026 | Open Enrollment opens | | | December 15, 2026 | Last day to choose for a January start | January 1, 2027 | | January 15, 2027 | Open Enrollment ends on healthcare.gov | February 1, 2027 |

When is open enrollment for health insurance in 2027?

On healthcare.gov it starts November 1, 2026 and ends January 15, 2027. Three dates do all the work.

November 1, 2026. The first day to see 2027 plans and prices, renew, switch, or sign up.

December 15, 2026. The last day to choose a plan that starts January 1. Choose on December 16 and you’re not covered on New Year’s Day.

January 15, 2027. The last day of Open Enrollment. Anything you choose from December 16 to January 15 starts February 1. After January 15, the Marketplace closes for the year unless you have a qualifying life event.

Is early January too late? Not until January 15. But a plan chosen then starts February 1, so if your old plan ended December 31, January has no coverage.

Is December 15 the last day to enroll for 2027?

No, not on healthcare.gov this season. December 15 is the last day for a January 1 start. Open Enrollment itself runs through January 15, 2027.

In 2025, CMS finalized the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule. One part said that starting with 2027 plans, Open Enrollment on healthcare.gov would run November 1 to December 15.

A group of cities and organizations sued. The case is City of Columbus v. Kennedy. On June 12, 2026, Judge Brendan Hurson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland vacated that part of the rule, along with several others.

In statements dated July 27 and July 31, 2026, CMS said Open Enrollment on healthcare.gov will begin November 1, 2026 and end January 15, 2027.

The government appealed. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments on October 30, 2026, and no ruling has come out yet. So this isn’t fully settled. For this season, CMS’s written position is January 15. Planning around December 15 protects you either way.

What happens if I enroll after December 15?

Your plan starts February 1, 2027, not January 1. Whether that hurts depends on one question: will you have a plan on January 1?

If your current plan ends December 31, because your company is leaving or your plan was discontinued, a plan chosen December 16 or later leaves January uncovered. An ER visit that month would be all yours to pay.

If your Marketplace plan is continuing and you do nothing, you’re usually renewed with the same company and covered January 1. You can still switch until January 15, and the new plan starts February 1.

So if you’ll have a plan on January 1, January 15 is a backup. If you won’t, December 15 is your deadline.

What if my insurance company is leaving in 2027?

Check the plan you’re moved to, or choose your own, before December 15.

Cigna announced it is leaving the individual Marketplace in all 11 states where it sells: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. That’s Marketplace plans only. If your Cigna coverage comes through an employer, this isn’t about you. Other companies are leaving certain states too. The details are in Cigna leaving the Marketplace in 2027.

On healthcare.gov, if your plan is discontinued and you do nothing, healthcare.gov says it will re-enroll you in a plan, which can be from a different insurance company. That plan is matched by type and metal level. It isn’t matched to your doctors.

State-run exchanges handle this their own way, and in Georgia the official wording hasn’t been consistent from one document to the next. If you’re on a state site, read your notice and don’t count on being moved.

Here’s the order I’d check a new plan in: your doctors, then the hospital you’d want to end up in, then your prescriptions, and only then the premium. Here’s how to verify a doctor is in network, and when auto-renewal is fine and when it isn’t.

Which states have different Open Enrollment dates?

Most of the 31 states I’m licensed in use healthcare.gov. Seven run their own exchange:

• Colorado: Connect for Health Colorado. Ends January 15, 2027.
• Georgia: Georgia Access. November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027.
• Illinois: Get Covered Illinois (Illinois left healthcare.gov starting with 2026 plans). Ends January 15, 2027.
• Kentucky: kynect. Ends January 15, 2027.
• Maryland: Maryland Health Connection. Ends January 15, 2027.
• Nevada: Nevada Health Link. Ends January 15, 2027.
• Virginia: Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace. November 1, 2026 to January 29, 2027. December 15 is still the date for a January 1 start.

Check your state’s site for its January 1 cutoff. Outside my states, a few state-run exchanges stay open until late January. If you’re in Texas, I put every date in one place: the Texas 2027 coverage calendar.

What if I miss January 15?

You need a qualifying life event to get a Marketplace plan for 2027. You’re not stuck for the year, but your options get narrower.

The standard events on healthcare.gov include losing health coverage (job-based coverage ending, COBRA running out, aging off a parent’s plan, Medicaid ending), moving to a new ZIP code or county, getting married, and having or adopting a baby. You usually have 60 days from the event to enroll. An income change is not on the list. Making more or less money is not by itself a qualifying event. If you lost job coverage, here’s health insurance after a layoff.

Some plans outside the Marketplace don’t run on the Open Enrollment calendar. They’re medically underwritten, so not everyone qualifies. The questions that decide it are in should you leave the Marketplace in 2027.

Who should stay on the Marketplace

If a subsidy covers a real part of your premium, or you have a health condition, or you’re pregnant or planning to be, the Marketplace is often the better fit, and these dates are the ones that matter to you. I offer private PPO plans, and I don’t enroll people in Marketplace plans. If the Marketplace is the better fit for you, I’ll point you to someone who does.

What I’d do this week

• Watch for your renewal letter. It usually arrives in the fall. When it comes, open it.
• Write your doctors, your hospital and every prescription on one page. That’s what you’ll check every plan against.
• Estimate your 2027 income. The subsidy runs on next year’s number, not last year’s. Here’s how subsidy income is counted.
• If your Marketplace plan is from Cigna and you live in one of the 11 states above, plan on a new plan for 2027.
• If your state runs its own exchange, bookmark its site now.
• Put December 15 in your phone, with a reminder on December 10.