Florida Health Insurance Open Enrollment 2027: Key Dates

Medically reviewed by Jawad Arshad, MD, FACEP. Last reviewed: September 23, 2026.

Disclosure: This guide also mentions membership-based coverage. Membership-based coverage is not insurance, is not regulated as insurance, and does not count as ACA minimum essential coverage.

Open enrollment for health insurance in Florida for 2027 opens November 1, 2026 and closes January 15, 2027. If you want your plan active on New Year's Day, the real deadline is December 15.

I tell every Florida family the same thing: treat December 15 as your deadline and ignore January 15. This year that advice matters more than usual. Two insurers are leaving, several filed double-digit rate increases, and the bigger federal tax credits are gone. Auto-renewing without looking is how people end up paying hundreds more a month.

When Is Open Enrollment for Health Insurance 2027 Florida?

Open enrollment for health insurance in Florida for 2027 is November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. Florida uses the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, so Florida follows the federal schedule. A plan picked by December 15, 2026 starts January 1, 2027. A plan picked from December 16 to January 15 starts February 1, 2027.

Florida does not run its own state exchange. Every Floridian shopping for an ACA plan, meaning a plan that meets Affordable Care Act rules, uses HealthCare.gov, the Marketplace Call Center at (800) 318-2596, or a licensed agent or certified enrollment assister.

The dates were in doubt for most of 2026. A federal rule from June 2025 would have ended open enrollment on December 15 in HealthCare.gov states. A federal court vacated that change in June 2026. On August 4, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed that HealthCare.gov open enrollment will run November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027, as reported by healthinsurance.org. The federal government has appealed the court ruling, so the fall 2027 schedule could still change.

Missing January 15 means waiting until next fall. After open enrollment ends, you can only enroll with a special enrollment period, which needs a qualifying life event such as losing job-based coverage, getting married, having a baby, or moving.

Which Insurers Are Leaving the Florida Marketplace for 2027?

Cigna and Sunshine State Health Plan are leaving the Florida marketplace for 2027, according to healthinsurance.org's review of Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) filings. Aetna already left at the end of 2025. If your 2026 plan is from an exiting insurer, you must pick a new plan during open enrollment.

Florida had 16 insurer entities selling marketplace plans in 2026, according to FLOIR. For 2027, Florida Phoenix reported on September 10, 2026 that 12 insurers filed rates, meaning fewer choices in many counties. healthinsurance.org's rate table notes that Sunshine State Health Plan members will transition to Ambetter.

If you were with Aetna in 2025, our write-up on Aetna leaving the Florida individual market explains what happened to those members.

Do not rely on auto re-enrollment if your insurer is leaving. HealthCare.gov may move you to a similar plan, but that plan can have a different doctor network, drug list, and deductible.

How Much Will Florida Health Insurance Cost in 2027?

Florida marketplace insurers proposed 2027 rate changes from 3.9% to 39.1%, with a straight average of about 15.9%, according to healthinsurance.org's review of RateReview.HealthCare.gov filings. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has not finalized these rates. Final prices appear on HealthCare.gov when open enrollment opens November 1.

Source: healthinsurance.org, citing RateReview.HealthCare.gov, accessed August 3, 2026.

These are full-price changes before tax credits. For 2026, Florida's average full-price increase was 31.5%, according to FLOIR. Our 2027 premium increase tracker by state shows how Florida compares with other states.

Most Floridians do not pay full price. During open enrollment for 2026, more than 95% of Florida marketplace enrollees qualified for a premium tax credit, the tax credit that lowers your monthly premium. The average tax credit was $740 a month and the average enrollee paid about $62 a month after it, according to CMS 2026 open enrollment data.

What Changed for Florida Subsidies Since 2025?

The extra federal tax credits that ran from 2021 through 2025 expired at the end of 2025. For 2027 coverage, tax credits again stop at 400% of the federal poverty level. For a single person, that cutoff is $63,840, based on the 2026 HHS poverty guideline of $15,960.

That cutoff is called the subsidy cliff. Earn one dollar over it and the tax credit drops to zero. The effect in Florida has been large. An AP analysis of CMS data found that 442,785 Floridians who had marketplace coverage in 2025 were uninsured in 2026, as reported by Florida Phoenix.

Here is how the cliff works for one person, using healthinsurance.org's HealthCare.gov price checks in Fort Lauderdale (ZIP 33301).

1. A 60-year-old earning $63,000 in 2025 paid $191 a month for the lowest-cost plan.
2. With the enhanced credits gone in 2026, that same person faced $1,064 a month for the lowest-cost plan, or $12,768 a year, because the income was over the 2026 cutoff.
3. For 2027 coverage, the single-person cutoff is $63,840 (4 x $15,960).
4. Someone expecting $64,500 of 2027 income is $660 over the cutoff.
5. Putting $1,000 into a deductible HSA or traditional IRA lowers modified adjusted gross income to $63,500, which is under $63,840, so a tax credit can apply again.

That fix only works if you estimate 2027 income honestly and make the contribution before you file. If you are near the cliff, get help before you pick a plan.

Does Florida Have Medicaid Expansion?

No. Florida has not adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion, according to KFF's August 2026 tracker. Most adults without children do not qualify for Florida Medicaid based on income alone, and adults under 100% of the poverty level usually do not qualify for marketplace tax credits either.

That leaves some low-income Floridians in what is called the coverage gap. Children can still qualify for Florida KidCare, the state's CHIP program. If your income is close to the poverty line, list every household member on your HealthCare.gov application, because household size changes the cutoff.

What If You Miss the Florida Open Enrollment Deadline?

If you miss January 15, 2027, you cannot buy an ACA plan in Florida until the next open enrollment unless you have a qualifying life event. Under HealthCare.gov rules, losing job-based coverage gives you 60 days to enroll through a special enrollment period.

If your job coverage is ending, compare COBRA against a marketplace plan before you elect it. Our guide to health insurance alternatives to COBRA walks through that choice. For employers planning their own renewals, our 2027 open enrollment guide for employers covers the group side.

Is Membership-Based Coverage an Option in Florida?

Membership-based coverage is an option some Floridians use for everyday care, but membership-based coverage is not insurance. Membership-based coverage does not count as ACA minimum essential coverage, does not qualify for tax credits, and does not have to follow ACA rules on pre-existing conditions.

The WoW Health membership shown on our individuals and families page starts around $314.99 a month for an individual, with pricing that varies by age and household. It includes virtual care and 800+ generic medications at $0. For an eligible major medical need, the member pays a $2,500 Initial Unshareable Amount per need before eligible expenses are shared under the member guidelines.

Membership-based coverage tends to fit people who earn just over the subsidy cliff and are healthy, or people who missed open enrollment. People with ongoing conditions or expensive prescriptions are usually better off in a marketplace plan during open enrollment.

How Should a Floridian Prepare for Open Enrollment?

Start with your 2027 income estimate and your list of doctors and prescriptions, then compare at least three plans on HealthCare.gov before December 15. Those three steps protect you from the two biggest 2027 risks in Florida: insurer exits and the subsidy cliff.

1. Check whether your insurer is leaving. Cigna and Sunshine State Health Plan members must choose again.
2. Estimate 2027 household income. Compare it with $63,840 for one person.
3. List your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions, and check each plan's network and drug list.
4. Compare Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans. Many Florida enrollees moved from Silver to Bronze in 2026, according to healthinsurance.org, but only Silver plans carry cost-sharing reductions for incomes between 100% and 250% of the poverty level.
5. Pick a plan by December 15, 2026 for January 1 coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Statement Regarding the City of Columbus v. Kennedy (August 4, 2026); healthinsurance.org, What are the deadlines for the ACA's open enrollment period (updated August 10, 2026) and Florida Health Insurance Marketplace guide (2026); CMS 2026 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files; Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Individual PPACA Market Monthly Premiums for Plan Year 2026 (October 16, 2025); RateReview.HealthCare.gov Florida filings (accessed August 3, 2026, via healthinsurance.org); Florida Phoenix, Up, up, and away: Are double-digit health insurance rate increases ahead (September 10, 2026), citing KFF and an AP analysis of CMS data; HHS 2026 Poverty Guidelines; KFF, Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions (August 2026).