Open enrollment for 2027 Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans begins Nov. 1 in most states. Idaho, Connecticut and Massachusetts start earlier, and some states already let shoppers preview premium rates 1. People who buy their own coverage before Medicare age will see higher prices, more paperwork and fewer brokers to help 1.
Premiums rise again
Premiums are slated for double-digit increases averaging 15%, slightly lower than last year 1. Last year's average increase of 26% was the largest in years 1. Insurers cited rising medical costs, inflation and labor shortages, along with fear that healthier people would leave the market 1.
Congress did not renew the enhanced subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Policy experts say that led millions to drop or lose coverage in the first months of this year 1. Higher earners lost subsidies entirely 1.
Most buyers will still get a subsidy for 2027, but a smaller one than before 1. Aid is cut off for households earning more than four times the federal poverty level. That is $63,840 for a single person and $86,560 for a couple 1.
New identity checks
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is adding anti-fraud rules for people who enroll through an agent or broker on the federal marketplace, which serves 29 states. State-run exchanges are not covered 1. These shoppers must get a one-time code or link by text, email or automated call to authorize their agent 1.
Consumers CMS calls "high-risk" must also verify their own identity. That group includes first-time applicants, people changing states, people switching agents and people paying $30 a month or less 1. They prove who they are through a CMS-approved third party such as Experian, and those who fail may have to upload ID such as a driver's license or passport 1.
Insurance agency owner Joshua Brooker worries "that up to 1 in 5 consumers is going to have to do extra identity proofing" and may give up on coverage 1.
Some people may have trouble not because they’re not real, but because they don’t have a credit file, or have moved, or have changed names
Fewer brokers, and lawsuits
In September, CMS imposed a moratorium on brokers new to selling ACA coverage. Agents not registered with the federal marketplace in 2026 cannot help with 2027 enrollments until February at the earliest, after open enrollment ends 1. A law firm summary says the interim final rule was published Sept. 23 2.
CMS says newly registered agents accounted for a disproportionate share of 2026 compliance concerns 1. The administration also cancelled policies covering 760,000 enrollees in August that it suspected were improperly signed up. A small number have regained coverage 12.
Two agent groups have sued. One filed Oct. 15, saying the freeze unfairly targets 19,000 agents. Health Agents for America filed Oct. 21 seeking a temporary restraining order 1.
Just because you’re a new agent doesn’t mean you are fraudulent
What happens next
Georgetown's Stacey Pogue advises shoppers to book broker appointments early because slots may fill faster 1. Experts say not to let plans auto-renew, since prices and coverage can change 1.
That matters because the people hit hardest include early retirees too young for Medicare. The pattern is a market with less aid, higher prices and more hurdles, arriving as voters decide who controls Congress on Nov. 3. The administration credits its anti-fraud steps for falling enrollment 1.
The Record
- CMS cancelled ACA policies covering about 760,000 enrollees it suspected were improperly signed up 12.
- CMS's interim final rule freezing new broker registrations for 2027 was published 2.
- The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals sued the Trump administration over the broker moratorium 1.
- Open enrollment for 2027 coverage begins in most states 1.
Sources
- KFF Health News, “Shopping for an ACA Plan This Year? Here’s What You Need To Know” (2026-10-23). kffhealthnews.org/insurance/aca-obamacare-open-enrollment-ma
- Morgan Lewis, “CMS cancels marketplace enrollments and imposes moratorium on new ACA broker registrations” (2026-09-25). morganlewis.com/pubs/2026/09/cms-cancels-marketplace-enrollm
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