Health Insurance Open Enrollment Opens With Premiums Up 13 Percent

Open enrollment for 2027 health coverage opened today, Sunday, November 1, on HealthCare.gov, and it opened with a price rise that every shopper will feel. Benchmark silver premiums, the second lowest cost silver plan in each area and the plan that federal tax credits are pegged to, will cost 13 percent more on average in 2027, according to a KFF analysis published Friday, October 30. That follows a 26 percent jump from 2025 to 2026. Put together, benchmark premiums are up 42 percent in two years.

The increase is 11 percent in the states that use HealthCare.gov and 16 percent in states that run their own marketplaces, KFF found. What any one person pays still depends on where they live, their age, their income, and the plan they pick. But nobody shops this year in the market of two years ago, and the extra federal help that softened premiums in earlier years is no longer in place. KFF notes that people with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty level no longer qualify for premium tax credits and pay the full cost.

The dates that decide your coverage

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. Enroll or change plans by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1, 2027. If you enroll between December 16 and January 15, coverage starts February 1. State-run marketplaces set their own deadlines, so shoppers in those states should check their own marketplace calendar rather than assume the federal one applies.

What CMS says is still affordable

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs HealthCare.gov, published its plan year 2027 fact sheet on October 30. CMS said more than 75 percent of HealthCare.gov shoppers will continue to have access to premiums at or below $50 a month in 2027 after tax credits. It said people eligible for tax credits will have access to a plan with nearly 90 percent of the lowest cost premium paid by the federal government. On average, shoppers can choose from about 100 plans from five to six insurers, including about 35 plans that work with a health savings account. Those CMS figures describe HealthCare.gov states and shoppers who qualify for credits. They do not describe the bill for someone above the subsidy cutoff, who pays full price.

Key numbers

• Benchmark silver premium change for 2027: up 13 percent on average
• HealthCare.gov states: up 11 percent
• State-run marketplaces: up 16 percent
• Two year change in benchmark premiums: up 42 percent from 2025 to 2027
• Open enrollment: November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027
• Enroll by December 15 for January 1 coverage
• Out of pocket maximum in 2027: $12,000 for an individual, $24,000 for a family
• Share of HealthCare.gov shoppers with access to premiums at or below $50 after credits: more than 75 percent, per CMS

What it means for ordinary people

The practical risk this year is doing nothing. A plan that was the right price in 2026 may renew at a higher price in 2027, with a different network and different drug coverage. Renewal is automatic for many people, and automatic is the most expensive way to shop this year. The checks that matter are simple and take an hour: add up the total yearly cost, premium times 12 plus the deductible and expected copays, rather than comparing monthly premiums alone; confirm your doctors are in the network for 2027, not 2026; confirm your regular medicines are covered and at what tier; and check whether your expected 2027 income keeps you under the tax credit cutoff, because credits are based on what you expect to earn in 2027, not what you earned last year.

What happens next

Enrollment runs for ten and a half weeks, but the December 15 deadline is the one that protects a January 1 start. Anyone who misses it and enrolls by January 15 starts February 1 instead, which can leave a gap month for people switching from a plan that ends in December. State marketplaces may close earlier or later. The safest move is to shop in November, while there is time to fix a paperwork problem before it becomes a coverage problem.