Health Insurance Open Enrollment Opens as Benchmark Premiums Rise 13% for 2027

Open enrollment for 2027 health coverage through HealthCare.gov opened on Sunday, November 1, with benchmark silver plan premiums up 13% on average for 2027, according to a KFF analysis published on October 30. The enrollment window runs through January 15, 2027, and people who enroll by December 15 will have coverage starting January 1, while later sign-ups start February 1.

The benchmark plan is the second-lowest-cost silver plan in an area, and federal premium tax credits are set from it. KFF put the 2027 rise at 11% in states that use HealthCare.gov and 16% in states that run their own marketplaces. The increase follows a 26% jump for 2026, which adds up to a 42% rise in average benchmark premiums between 2025 and 2027, according to KFF.

A second year without the extra subsidies

This is the second year of marketplace coverage without the enhanced premium tax credits that expired at the end of 2025. The regular subsidies in the 2010 health law remain in place, and most enrollees still qualify for them, according to CNN. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in its October 30 fact sheet that more than 75% of HealthCare.gov shoppers will have access to premiums at or below $50 a month in 2027 after tax credits. The agency’s fact sheet did not give an average premium change.

People with low incomes may qualify for Medicaid instead of marketplace coverage. Our explainer sets out how Medicaid and marketplace coverage differ and which one fits different situations.

Enrollment has already fallen. Only 19.2 million people were enrolled as of February 2026, down 2.6 million from the same period a year earlier, according to federal data cited by CNN. The number of people buying coverage on the individual market fell by more than 4.6 million as of June compared with a year earlier, according to KFF estimates. In their rate filings, insurers pointed to faster growth in the underlying cost of medical care, according to KFF.

Fewer choices in many counties

Many enrollees will also have fewer plans to choose from. Roughly 1,200 counties will have only one or two insurers on their exchanges, up from about 800, Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told CNN. That means some enrollees could have to switch plans, and they need to check that their doctors and drugs are covered by the new policy.

The Trump administration has also placed a moratorium on new broker and agent participation in the exchanges and cut funding for navigators, who help people enroll, by 90%, according to CNN.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and KFF.