Healthcare Marketplace Open Enrollment: Read This Before Finalizing Your ACA Plan

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

Key Takeaways

• Marketplace enrollment began November 1, 2023, and runs through December 15, 2023, for coverage that begins January 1, 2024.

• This year, there’s some extra time to enroll: You can sign up by January 15th, 2024 for coverage begins on February 1, 2024.

• There are a few special enrollment periods to be aware of.

• Premiums for silver and bronze plans will increase for some people.

The enrollment period for private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) marketplace is going on right now, and ends, for most people, on December 15. Coverage begins January 1, 2024.

While you can keep the coverage you had last year by doing nothing, health insurance experts recommend taking the time to look at next year’s options.

“Plans change year to year, and you could find that out-of-pocket costs are higher, that your doctor is no longer in your network, or that you can save money by switching plans,” Cheryl Fish-Parcham, director of Private Coverage at health advocacy group Families USA, told Verywell.

If your state is one of the 18 (plus DC) that has its own marketplace, check to see what’s new for 2024. You can do that by looking at the state website, or by clicking on “find local help” on the HealthCare.gov website for free assistance.

There are some specific changes for 2024, both in terms of timelines and in terms of costs. Here’s what you need to know.

Timeline Changes for 2024

If you miss the December 15 deadline, you have until January 15, 2024 to sign up. But if you wait until January, your coverage will only begin on February 1 in the federal and many state marketplaces. If you’re signing up through your state, check deadlines carefully, since they can vary. For example, some marketplaces are extending signup through January 16, because January 15—the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.—is a federal holiday.

Extra Time for Paperwork

Marketplaces automatically check trusted data sources (such as the IRS and Social Security) to verify the income of enrollees, Jennifer Sullivan, Director of Health Coverage Access at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Verywell. But if the marketplace isn’t able to verify income, you may have to show documentation.

“Previously, applicants had 90 days to provide that paperwork, but that has been extended to 150 days so that people don’t miss the deadline,” she said.

More Time on Parent Plans

Private health plans must permit young adults who are covered under a parent’s health insurance to stay on the plan until they turn 26. Starting in 2024, all federal marketplace plans will have to continue that coverage through the end of 2024. Some state marketplaces will do that as well.

Special Enrollment Periods

Marketplace plans are open to individuals to enroll once a year during open enrollment, but “special” exceptions are made so individuals can enroll at other times during the year, including after getting married or having a baby.

“Special enrollment periods give [eligible] consumers the opportunity to enroll in coverage outside of the normal open enrollment period,” Kaye Pestaina, vice president at KFF, a health research nonprofit in Washington, DC, told Verywell.

This past year, a new special enrollment period allowed individuals who lost Medicaid coverage to enroll in a marketplace plan prior to November’s official open enrollment.

“During the COVID Public Health Emergency, people were allowed to stay on Medicaid even if they were no longer eligible,” Pestaina explains. “With the end of the COVID emergency [in May 2023], Medicaid enrollees are losing that coverage—called the ‘unwinding.’ If someone found out that they lost Medicaid coverage back in June, they had the opportunity to enroll in a Marketplace plan then instead of waiting for the Marketplace open enrollment that began this month. The goal is to prevent gaps in coverage.”

Related: Here's What To Do If You'll Lose Medicaid Coverage When the Pandemic Emergency Ends

KFF outlines a few examples of other new special enrollment periods:

• Anyone unenrolled from Medicaid through July 31, 2024, can apply for marketplace insurance, check the box attesting to the fact that they lost Medicaid, and select a new plan within 90 days of losing coverage. Check your state marketplace website to see if they give you more time.

• People whose 2024 incomes will be no more than 150% of the federal poverty level ($21,870 for a single person, $37,290 for a family of three) can sign up for or change plans throughout the year. Coverage will begin the first day of the following month.

• People who have been affected by natural disasters, such as the Maui wildfires, are eligible for an “exceptional circumstances” special enrollment that will give them more time to apply for marketplace coverage. To qualify, people must live in or have moved away from an area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) as eligible for individual or public assistance. They’ll need to choose a plan within 60 days of FEMA declaring an end to the disaster period.

Cost Changes for 2024

Plans for the ACA marketplace vary in terms of costs and are designated by metal color: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Bronze plans have the lowest monthly premiums, but cover fewer healthcare costs of beneficiaries. Platinum plans cover the most healthcare costs, but have the highest monthly premiums.

Related: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Health Plans

For people whose incomes are too high to qualify for financial assistance (in the form of tax credits), the 2024 cost of monthly premiums will rise, on average, 5% for silver plans and 6% for bronze plans.

There are a few state-specific marketplace plans to expect for 2024:

• Massachusetts is increasing the income limit for additional state subsidies.

• Washington State is allowing undocumented immigrants to enroll in marketplace plans with state income-based subsidies.

People with ACA coverage who receive tax credits to help pay for it must again file tax returns to be eligible for subsidies, a requirement that was paused during the pandemic. People who fail to file for two consecutive years won’t be eligible for the credits the following year.

In some cases, allowing your plan to auto-renew—even without checking—could save you money. That’s because the HealthCare.gov system will automatically check the income levels of people enrolled in bronze plans to see if they have income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, which would make them eligible for a cost-sharing reduction, KFF reports. If this applies to you, you’ll be automatically re-enrolled in a silver-level plan offered by the same insurer and with the same provider network if the premium for that silver plan is the same or lower as the bronze plan. Don’t want that plan? You have until January 15 to make a change.

If you’ve already signed up for coverage through the marketplace for 2024 but want to change your plan, there’s still time to do that—with some caveats. A spokesperson for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers the ACA Marketplace, told Verywell that consumers who select a plan by December 15 can still change plans, and that plan will have a start date of February 1, 2024. Coverage for the month of January will be through the plan you originally selected.

What This Means For You

If you don’t have health insurance through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or another source that provides health coverage, you can find coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace. Most people qualify for savings based on their income. If you are already enrolled in a marketplace plan, it’s important to be aware of a few cost and timeline changes for 2024 before you simply allow your coverage to renew.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.