Open Enrollment 2027: What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Health Insurance Plan

Mark your calendar: confirmed 2027 dates

Healthcare.gov confirms that open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027 in states using the federal Marketplace. This follows a period of uncertainty in 2026 after a proposed shorter enrollment window was blocked by a federal court, leaving the standard, longer timeline in place. A small number of state-run marketplaces set their own schedules, so confirm your specific state's exact dates if you don't use HealthCare.gov directly.

Coverage that starts on January 1 generally requires enrolling by mid-December in most years, with a later enrollment date pushing your coverage start date into February instead. If you're switching plans and want continuous coverage without a gap, enrolling earlier in the window rather than waiting until the final days gives you a meaningful cushion in case anything about your application needs correcting before it's finalized.

Before you log in: what to gather first

• A list of your current doctors, specialists, and preferred hospital.
• A list of your current prescriptions, including dosage.
• Your household's realistic projected income for the coming year, not last year's tax return alone.
• Your current plan's premium, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum, for comparison.
• Social Security numbers and immigration documentation for anyone in the household applying for coverage.

Having these details ready before you start shopping turns what could be a multi-session process into something you can realistically finish in one focused sitting, rather than an ordeal spread across several frustrating attempts.

What's different this enrollment season

As covered in more detail in our full guide to 2027 healthcare insurance changes, this season brings several genuine shifts worth knowing before you shop: ACA premiums are rising roughly 15% on average, a second consecutive year of steep increases; the enhanced premium subsidies that lowered costs from 2021 through 2025 remain expired, meaning the 400% federal poverty level income cliff is back; and new federal rules add more income verification steps to the application process. A handful of states, including a growing list with their own supplemental subsidy programs, have stepped in to help offset some of this for their residents.

None of this means coverage is out of reach — it means the specific dollar amount you'll actually pay this year depends more than usual on running your own numbers rather than assuming last year's experience still applies. Households that previously found the Marketplace unaffordable might find a state supplemental subsidy changes that calculation, and households that previously qualified for a substantial federal subsidy should specifically re-check their eligibility given the income cliff's return.

Comparing plans: the numbers that actually matter

As covered in more detail in our guides to how health insurance actually works and how to choose a plan, the plan with the lowest premium is very often not the plan that costs the least overall. Compare premium, deductible, copays, coinsurance, and the out-of-pocket maximum together, since a plan that looks cheap on premium alone can carry a deductible high enough to cost significantly more in a year with real medical needs.

It's also worth comparing metal tier, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, alongside these cost-sharing figures, since the tier determines the overall split between what you pay and what your insurer covers. A plan one tier higher than what you had last year might carry a meaningfully higher premium, but if it also comes with a substantially lower deductible, the total cost comparison could still favor the richer plan depending on how much care you expect to need this year.

Confirm your doctors are still in-network

Provider networks can change from year to year, even under the same insurer and the same plan name. Confirm your specific doctors, specialists, and preferred hospital are still in-network for the exact plan you're considering for 2027, checking both the insurer's provider directory and directly with the provider's office, since directories aren't always current. This is especially important if you're managing an ongoing condition with an established specialist relationship.

Don't assume that because your insurer stays the same, your specific plan's network stays the same too. Insurers frequently offer multiple different network configurations across their plan lineup for a given year, and a provider accepting one of that insurer's plans doesn't guarantee they accept every plan that carrier sells, even within the same metal tier.

Check your prescriptions against the current formulary

Prescription drug formularies, the specific lists of covered medications and their cost tiers, change annually, sometimes significantly, even with the same insurance company. Look up each of your current medications against a plan's 2027 formulary specifically, rather than assuming this year's coverage will match last year's, and note any prior authorization or step therapy requirements that could add friction to filling a prescription you rely on.

If you take a medication that moved to a higher cost tier or gained a new prior authorization requirement, it's worth asking your doctor whether a therapeutically similar, lower-tier alternative might work equally well, since this single check can sometimes meaningfully lower a household's total annual prescription costs without changing anything about the actual treatment plan.

Confirm your actual subsidy eligibility

Because the subsidy landscape genuinely changed heading into this enrollment season, as covered in our guide to what determines health insurance cost, don't assume your household's subsidy eligibility matches a prior year. Use your realistic projected income for the coming year, include all sources of household income, and run the numbers fresh rather than carrying forward an old estimate. A household that previously received a substantial subsidy may find its situation has changed, and vice versa.

This check matters most for households near the income thresholds where eligibility shifts meaningfully, since a modest change in projected income, a raise, a new source of income, or the loss of one, can move a household across the 400% federal poverty level cliff in either direction. Running the actual application through to the subsidy estimate stage, rather than stopping at a rough guess, is the only reliable way to know where your household genuinely stands this year.

Common enrollment mistakes to avoid

• Re-enrolling automatically in last year's plan without comparing it against current options.
• Comparing plans by premium alone, without factoring in deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum.
• Assuming a provider or medication is still covered the same way as last year.
• Estimating subsidy eligibility using outdated income figures or last year's rules.
• Waiting until the final days of the enrollment window, leaving no time to fix an application error.

Each of these mistakes shares a common cause: treating enrollment as a quick formality rather than an annual decision worth revisiting from scratch. The plans, prices, and rules genuinely change enough year to year that a few extra minutes of comparison at the start of the season tends to pay for itself many times over by the time the year is finished.

How Apollo helps you get through this season fast

Comparing plans, confirming your doctors and prescriptions, and checking your actual subsidy eligibility all at once is a lot to manage in a single sitting. A licensed Apollo Health Insurance agent can run this entire comparison for you, confirming your specific providers and medications are covered and calculating your real subsidy-adjusted cost across plans, all at no cost to you.

This kind of help matters most during exactly the season when your time is most stretched, since open enrollment falls during the same fall and winter months that bring holidays, year-end work deadlines, and everything else competing for your attention. Handing the comparison itself to someone who does this full time frees you up to simply review the recommendation and make the final decision, rather than researching every detail yourself from scratch.

Common questions about open enrollment 2027

Have a question that isn't answered below? Our full health insurance FAQ page covers more general coverage questions.