When Is Open Enrollment for Health Insurance 2026? November 1 to January 15

When is open enrollment for health insurance in 2026? On HealthCare.gov it runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, and it is for coverage during 2027.

CMS confirmed those exact dates in writing on July 27, 2026. If you have seen December 15 given as the end date somewhere, there is a reason for that, and it is explained below.

But January 15 is not the date most people should plan around.

The date that actually matters is December 15

Open enrollment has two deadlines inside it, and they do different things.

• Pick a plan by December 15, pay your first premium, and your coverage starts January 1.
• Pick a plan between December 16 and January 15, pay your first premium, and your coverage starts February 1.

So January 15 is the last day you can enroll at all. December 15 is the last day you can enroll and still be covered on January 1.

If you are buying a new plan and have nothing else in place for January, that gap is the whole story. Waiting until January to decide means January is uninsured.

Why you may have read a different end date

In 2025, a federal rule set out to shorten open enrollment starting with 2027 coverage. On the federal platform it would have run November 1 to December 15, and every state marketplace would have had to finish by December 31.

That rule was challenged in court in City of Columbus v. Kennedy. After the court's orders, CMS stated on July 27, 2026 that it "has not altered the dates for the Open Enrollment period" and that open enrollment on the federal marketplace "will begin on November 1, 2026 and end on January 15, 2027."

The shorter window is still printed in the federal regulation you can read online today, in 45 CFR 155.410. A page written from that text, or written in 2025 before the court case, can give you December 15 or December 31 as the end date. For this year, CMS's statement and HealthCare.gov both say January 15.

Plan for December 15 anyway, for the reason above, and the confusion stops mattering.

First, make sure this is your open enrollment

"Open enrollment" means different dates depending on where your coverage comes from. The dates above are only for Marketplace plans, the ones bought through HealthCare.gov or your state's marketplace.

• Marketplace plan: November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. December 15 for a January 1 start.
• Medicare: October 15 to December 7. That is the window to join, drop, or switch a Medicare Advantage plan or a Medicare drug plan, and the change starts January 1. It is a separate calendar, and it closes first.
• Health insurance through your job: your employer's plan runs on its own schedule. HealthCare.gov's own wording is "Job-based plans may have different Open Enrollment Periods. Check with your employer." Ask HR for the dates.
• Medicaid or CHIP: you can apply and enroll any time of year.

If your state runs its own marketplace

Some states do not use HealthCare.gov. They run their own marketplace on their own website, and federal rules allow those state marketplaces to end open enrollment after January 15.

So if your state has its own marketplace, its deadline may be later than the one on this page. HealthCare.gov has a page where you pick your state, and it tells you which site to use. Check there before you treat January 15 as your deadline.

What happens if you do nothing

If you already have a Marketplace plan, read the renewal letter your insurer sends this fall. The standard letter CMS gives insurers tells you to pick a plan by a date it names, "or we'll automatically re-enroll you in the same or similar coverage. This may change some of your costs and coverage, so review your options carefully."

Two things are hiding in that sentence.

1. Same or similar is not a promise of the same plan. If your plan is being discontinued, the letter names the plan you will be moved into instead.
2. Your costs can change even if the plan does not. Premium, deductible and what you pay at the doctor are next year's numbers, not this year's.

Being re-enrolled without looking means accepting a price you have not seen. Read the new numbers before December 15, while you can still switch and keep a January 1 start.

If you miss open enrollment

After January 15 you can only enroll in or change a Marketplace plan if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, which comes from certain life changes. According to HealthCare.gov, that includes when, in the past 60 days, you or someone in your household:

• got married
• had a baby, adopted a child, or placed a child for foster care
• lost qualifying health coverage (or you expect to lose it in the next 60 days)

When COBRA coverage runs out, you also get 60 days to enroll in a Marketplace plan. That applies when COBRA expires, not if you cancel it early yourself.

If none of those fit, you are generally waiting for the next open enrollment. Medicaid and CHIP are the exception, since they take applications all year.

A short list for before December 15

1. Work out which open enrollment you are in. Marketplace, Medicare, or your employer. Each has different dates.
2. Check whether your state runs its own marketplace. If it does, use its site and its deadline.
3. Read your renewal letter for next year's premium and deductible, even if you plan to keep the same plan.
4. Choose by December 15 if you want coverage on January 1.
5. Pay the first premium. Every start date on HealthCare.gov depends on it. Picking a plan without paying does not start coverage.

Once you have a plan for 2027, the next useful step is knowing what it actually pays for. Here is how to find your policy limits, including the smaller limits that sit underneath the big ones. And if a claim gets denied next year, here is how to appeal a denied health insurance claim, with the 180-day clock.

This article is general information, not insurance, financial, or legal advice. Dates are for Marketplace coverage in 2027 as published by CMS and HealthCare.gov, checked September 17, 2026. State marketplace dates and your own plan documents govern.