ACA open enrollment opens today for 2027 with 13% benchmark premium rise and new ID checks

Open enrollment for 2027 Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans starts November 1 in most states and runs through January 15, NPR reported ¹. Idaho, Connecticut and Massachusetts started earlier ¹.

The average benchmark silver premium is rising 13% for 2027, KFF found, the second straight year of double-digit increases after a 26% jump from 2025 to 2026 ². In the 29 states using the federal Healthcare.gov marketplace, the benchmark rise is 11%; state-run exchanges average 16% ¹².

Insurers blame higher medical costs and the end of enhanced subsidies, which expired at the end of 2025, KFF said ². Most enrollees still get a subsidy, but it is less generous than before ¹. People earning more than four times the federal poverty rate get none; that cutoff is $63,840 for a single person, $86,560 for a couple and $109,280 for a family of three ¹.

Fewer insurers will be selling plans. As of October 29, 11 carriers had announced exits from at least one state for 2027 while seven planned to enter a new state, KFF said, and Cigna is leaving the individual market in all 11 states where it participates ².

From Channel GOPHusted's nine votes against lower health premiumsSherrod Brown · 130 plays · captioned, with the source named

The Trump administration credits its anti-fraud efforts for falling enrollment, including the August cancellation of policies covering 760,000 enrollees suspected of being improperly signed up; a small number have regained coverage ¹. KFF noted some reinstatements suggest the criteria also flagged legitimate enrollees ².

New identity checks for broker shoppers

Under rules from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the federal marketplace, anyone using an agent or broker on the federal exchange must get a one-time confirmation code or link by text, email or automated call before that agent can enroll them or change their plan ¹.

Consumers CMS deems "high-risk" must verify their own identity through a third party such as the credit company Experian. CMS defines that group as first-time applicants, people with existing coverage whose applications involve a change of state, those using a new or different agent, and anyone with a monthly premium of $30 or less ¹.

CMS also barred agents who were not registered with the federal marketplace in 2026 from helping with 2027 enrollments until February at the earliest, past the end of open enrollment ¹.

Broker Joshua Brooker, who runs a Pennsylvania insurance agency, worried the rules are too broad, saying "that up to 1 in 5 consumers is going to have to do extra identity proofing" and may give up ¹. Stacey Pogue of Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms said the changes might "be an appropriate response by CMS that targets fraudulent enrollments but might also create extra hurdles" ¹.

Two agent groups sued. The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals filed October 15 over the moratorium, saying it unfairly targets 19,000 agents, and Health Agents for America filed October 21 seeking a temporary restraining order ¹.

Pogue's advice: do not delay. "If you rely on an agent or broker, and a lot of people do, their slots might fill up faster because there will be fewer of them to help with enrollment. I would reach out early," she said ¹.

That matters because the Congressional Budget Office projects marketplace enrollment falling from a peak of 22.4 million in 2025 to 13.1 million in 2027 ². Some states are using their own money to soften the blow: New Mexico fully replaced the lost federal help in 2026 and continues it in 2027, and California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia have state subsidy programs ².

The Record

1. Dec 31, 2025Enhanced ACA premium subsidies expired at the end of 2025 ¹².
2. Aug 31, 2026The administration cancelled ACA policies covering 760,000 enrollees suspected of improper sign-ups in August ¹.
3. Oct 15, 2026The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals sued over the broker moratorium ¹.
4. Oct 21, 2026Health Agents for America filed for a temporary restraining order on the moratorium ¹.

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<h2>ACA open enrollment opens today for 2027 with 13% benchmark premium rise and new ID checks</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/aca-open-enrollment-opens-today-for-2027-with-13-benchmark-premium-rise-and-new">The GOP Files</a> on Sunday, November 1, 2026.</em></p> <p>Open enrollment for 2027 Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans starts November 1 in most states and runs through January 15, NPR reported . Idaho, Connecticut and Massachusetts started earlier .</p> <p>The average benchmark silver premium is rising 13% for 2027, KFF found, the second straight year of double-digit increases after a 26% jump from 2025 to 2026 . In the 29 states using the federal Healthcare.gov marketplace, the benchmark rise is 11%; state-run exchanges average 16% .</p> <p>Insurers blame higher medical costs and the end of enhanced subsidies, which expired at the end of 2025, KFF said . Most enrollees still get a subsidy, but it is less generous than before . People earning more than four times the federal poverty rate get none; that cutoff is $63,840 for a single person, $86,560 for a couple and $109,280 for a family of three .</p> <p>Fewer insurers will be selling plans. As of October 29, 11 carriers had announced exits from at least one state for 2027 while seven planned to enter a new state, KFF said, and Cigna is leaving the individual market in all 11 states where it participates .</p> <p>The Trump administration credits its anti-fraud efforts for falling enrollment, including the August cancellation of policies covering 760,000 enrollees suspected of being improperly signed up; a small number have regained coverage . KFF noted some reinstatements suggest the criteria also flagged legitimate enrollees .</p> <h2>New identity checks for broker shoppers</h2> <p>Under rules from the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the federal marketplace, anyone using an agent or broker on the federal exchange must get a one-time confirmation code or link by text, email or automated call before that agent can enroll them or change their plan .</p> <p>Consumers CMS deems &quot;high-risk&quot; must verify their own identity through a third party such as the credit company Experian. CMS defines that group as first-time applicants, people with existing coverage whose applications involve a change of state, those using a new or different agent, and anyone with a monthly premium of $30 or less .</p> <p>CMS also barred agents who were not registered with the federal marketplace in 2026 from helping with 2027 enrollments until February at the earliest, past the end of open enrollment .</p> <p>Broker Joshua Brooker, who runs a Pennsylvania insurance agency, worried the rules are too broad, saying &quot;that up to 1 in 5 consumers is going to have to do extra identity proofing&quot; and may give up . Stacey Pogue of Georgetown University&#39;s Center on Health Insurance Reforms said the changes might &quot;be an appropriate response by CMS that targets fraudulent enrollments but might also create extra hurdles&quot; .</p> <p>Two agent groups sued. The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals filed October 15 over the moratorium, saying it unfairly targets 19,000 agents, and Health Agents for America filed October 21 seeking a temporary restraining order .</p> <p>Pogue&#39;s advice: do not delay. &quot;If you rely on an agent or broker, and a lot of people do, their slots might fill up faster because there will be fewer of them to help with enrollment. I would reach out early,&quot; she said .</p> <p>That matters because the Congressional Budget Office projects marketplace enrollment falling from a peak of 22.4 million in 2025 to 13.1 million in 2027 . Some states are using their own money to soften the blow: New Mexico fully replaced the lost federal help in 2026 and continues it in 2027, and California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia have state subsidy programs .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/aca-open-enrollment-opens-today-for-2027-with-13-benchmark-premium-rise-and-new">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/aca-open-enrollment-opens-today-for-2027-with-13-benchmark-premium-rise-and-new.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. NPR, “It's ACA open enrollment time. Here are the changes for health insurance shoppers” (2026-11-01). npr.org/2026/11/01/nx-s1-6023423/aca-open-enrollment-health-
2. KFF, “9 Things to Watch for the 2027 ACA Open Enrollment Period  | KFF” (2026-10-30). kff.org/affordable-care-act/9-things-to-watch-for-the-2027-a

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