ACA Open Enrollment 2027: Higher Premiums and Fewer Options as the Sign-Up Window Opens Sunday

People signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act for 2027 should expect higher premiums and fewer coverage options, the Associated Press reported Sunday, as the marketplace sign-up window opened in most states. The enrollment period starts Sunday and runs through January 15.

The big changes this year include expiring financial assistance, rising rates, potential delays in working with a broker, new restrictions on immigrants, and stricter enrollment checks, according to the AP. Financial help, including premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, is now restricted for many groups of people who were previously eligible, and experts predict less coverage and higher prices, with the average price of insurance bought through the marketplaces expected to rise by 13 percent in 2027, according to an analysis of new CMS data by the health research nonprofit KFF. Shoppers who do not qualify for a subsidy will feel the increases most.

About 19.2 million people were actively enrolled in ACA marketplace plans as of February, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. New regulations starting in 2027 will also limit tax credits for certain lawfully present immigrants, which could result in an additional 1 million uninsured people over time, and the administration plans to remove 760,000 enrollees over claims of fraud while aiming for $2.2 billion in savings. A CMS fact sheet distributed Friday said Americans using HealthCare.gov will have robust access to low-cost plans. For capital-region shoppers, the window is the same one already open through Maryland Health Connection, and the deadline that matters most is December 15 for coverage that starts January 1.