Open enrollment for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans began Sunday, and shoppers should expect higher premiums and fewer options for 2027, The Associated Press reported via KTAR News.
The sign-up window runs through Jan. 15 in most states, including Arizona, which uses HealthCare.gov.
Average marketplace premiums are expected to rise 13% in 2027, according to a KFF analysis of new federal data. Cynthia Cox of KFF said the increase is driven mainly by rising health care costs and hospital market concentration. People who do not qualify for subsidies will be hit hardest, she said.
Financial help, including premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, is now restricted for many groups that previously qualified. New rules starting in 2027 also limit tax credits for certain lawfully present immigrants, and enrollment checks are stricter.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a fact sheet that HealthCare.gov users “will have robust access to low-cost plans.”
About 19.2 million people were enrolled in ACA plans as of February, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. NPR reported that people who use an agent or broker on the federal marketplace, which serves 29 states, will need a one-time confirmation code to authorize that agent, and some “high-risk” applicants must verify their identity first.
Sources: Associated Press via KTAR News, NPR. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Tama998 / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
