Open Enrollment 2026: Deadlines, Special Enrollment, and What to Do If You Miss It

On the federal exchange, enroll by December 15 for coverage starting January 1. Enroll between December 16 and January 15, your coverage starts February 1.

State-based exchanges sometimes run later. California runs through January 31. New York runs through January 31. New Jersey runs through January 31. Massachusetts runs through January 23. Check your specific state if you live in one of the 18 state-based exchanges.

If you have a major life change outside the open enrollment window, you usually get a 60-day Special Enrollment Period. Qualifying events include:

• Losing employer coverage (layoff, voluntary departure, hours cut below benefits threshold).
• Aging off a parent's plan at 26.
• Getting married or divorced.
• Having a baby, adopting, or gaining a foster child.
• Moving to a new ZIP code or state.
• Income changes that make you newly eligible for a subsidy.
• Loss of Medicaid or CHIP eligibility.

If you missed both windows, you have three legitimate options. Short-term medical (available year-round in most states). A health care sharing ministry (not insurance, but covers some major medical events). Or wait until the next open enrollment.

Going uninsured for a partial year is legal as of 2019 (the federal individual mandate penalty was reduced to $0). California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and DC still impose a state-level mandate penalty.

Three things to check every November, even if you're keeping the same plan:

• Your doctors are still in network. Networks change every January. The doctor you saw last year may not be covered this year.
• Your medications are still on the plan's formulary at the same tier. A drug that was $10 last year can be $80 this year if it moved tiers.
• Your projected income still puts you in the right subsidy tier. Income changes from year to year can move you across a cliff.

Open enrollment is when carriers redesign plans, change networks, and shift drug formularies. The marketplace will auto-renew you into a similar plan if you do nothing. That auto-renewal often misses better options that became available for the new year.

Plansure brokers do an annual review every November. We confirm your doctors, your prescriptions, and your subsidy math against the new plan year. No charge. Carriers pay our commission.