How to Read Your 2027 Health Insurance Renewal Notice

You may get two letters

If you have a Marketplace plan, the renewal usually arrives in two pieces.

• A notice from the Marketplace. It covers your eligibility for next year, including whether you qualify for a tax credit and how much. It is based on the information on file, which may be a year old.
• A notice from your insurance company. It shows your plan for next year, any changes to the plan, and the new full premium. It may also show your premium after the credit.

The two can disagree, because they are produced at different times from different information. Treat both as a starting point, not a final answer.

If you have a private plan, you will get one renewal notice from the insurer. Private plans renew on their own schedule, often on the anniversary of your start date, not January 1. More on that below.

Auto re-enrollment: what happens if you do nothing

If you do nothing during open enrollment, HealthCare.gov generally re-enrolls you in the same plan for next year, or in a similar plan if yours is no longer offered. Your credit is recalculated using what the Marketplace has on file. HealthCare.gov explains how to keep or change your plan.

Auto re-enrollment is a safety net. It is not a plan. The problems I see most often:

• Old income. The credit may be based on last year's numbers. If your income went up, you could owe money at tax time. If it went down, you may be leaving help on the table.
• Missing permission to check tax data. If your consent for the Marketplace to verify income has lapsed, you can be re-enrolled without financial help.
• A plan that changed. Same name, different deductible, different network or a different drug list.
• A better plan you never saw. New plans enter every year, and the plan that was best last year may not be best now.

Logging in to update your application takes a few minutes and fixes most of this.

Crosswalked plans

If your plan is discontinued, the Marketplace may move you to a replacement. This is called a crosswalk. Usually the new plan comes from the same insurer and is similar, but similar is not the same. The deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, network and covered drugs can all change. In some cases you may be mapped to a plan from a different insurer.

Your notice should say whether you are being crosswalked. Look for wording about your current plan not being available next year. If you see it, compare the replacement with everything else before you accept it. The discontinued plan guide covers this in detail, and the insurers leaving the Marketplace guide covers exits.

Reading the premium: full price and your price

Most notices show three numbers. Find all three.

1. The full monthly premium. What the plan costs before any help.
2. The tax credit. The monthly amount the government pays toward your premium.
3. Your premium. The full price minus the credit. This is what you pay.

For 2027, two things push the third number up for many households. First, the enhanced credits expired at the end of 2025, so the credit is smaller for many people and stops entirely above 400 percent of the federal poverty level, $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four. Below that line, the expected contribution for the benchmark silver plan now tops out at 10.22 percent of income. Second, full premiums rose in many states. In Florida, 2027 Marketplace premiums are rising about 10.4 percent on average. The 2027 premium increases page has state by state numbers, and the subsidy cliff guide explains the line.

If your notice shows a monthly bill where you used to pay nothing, that is usually why. If the jump is large, the premium went up guide has the steps I take.

An example renewal, read line by line

This is an example with made-up round numbers. It is not a quote for any real plan. A single 45-year-old opens her 2027 Marketplace notice.

• 2026: full premium $600 a month, credit $450, she paid $150.
• 2027 notice: full premium $660 a month, credit $380, she would pay $280.

The full price rose 10 percent. The credit fell, because the enhanced credits are gone and the notice used income from her file. Then she updates her 2027 estimate. She expects $66,000 this year, which is over the $63,840 line. Her real credit is zero, and her real premium is $660 a month. If she had kept the notice as written, she would have collected a credit she was not eligible for and paid it all back at tax time. That is the moment to compare a private plan priced on her health.

Update your 2027 income before you decide

The credit on your notice is only as good as the income behind it. When you update your application, use expected household income for all of 2027, not last year's tax return. Include wages, net self-employment income, retirement withdrawals, Social Security and investment income. If you are close to the line, estimate carefully. Starting with the 2026 tax year there is no cap on paying back excess credit. The repayment guide explains how that works.

What to compare before you keep the plan

The premium is only one number. Before you renew, check:

• The deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. For 2027 the Marketplace cap is $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family. Many bronze plans sit at or near it.
• The network. Look up each doctor and hospital you use, for next year's network, not this year's.
• Your prescriptions. Drug lists change. Check each medication and its tier.
• The plan type. Many Marketplace plans are HMO or EPO plans with no out-of-network coverage except emergencies.
• The metal level. The bronze, silver and gold guide explains what changed for 2027.

Then put a private plan next to it. If your household is above the subsidy line, the Marketplace now costs full price, and a medically underwritten private plan may come in lower for a healthy person, often with a PPO network. If approved, a private plan can start on the first of any month.

The deadlines

For 2027 coverage on HealthCare.gov:

• November 1, 2026: open enrollment opens.
• December 15, 2026: choose a plan by this date for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.
• January 15, 2027: the scheduled close of open enrollment. Plans chosen after December 15 generally start February 1.

States that run their own Marketplace may use different dates. After January 15, you generally need a qualifying life event to change Marketplace plans. Federal rules on the closing date have shifted in recent years, so treat December 15 as your real deadline. The open enrollment guide has more detail.

If your renewal is for a private plan

Private plans send their own renewal notice before your renewal date. The new rate usually reflects your age and changes across the plan. Read the notice for any change to benefits or network, and check your policy for how renewal works on your plan.

If you want to switch to a different private plan, that means a new application with health questions, and if approved a new start date. Do not cancel your current plan until the new one is approved in writing. Open enrollment is also a good time to compare your private plan with the Marketplace, especially if your income dropped and you might qualify for a credit.

A ten-minute renewal check

1. Find the full premium, the credit and your premium on the notice.
2. Look for crosswalk language or plan changes.
3. Update your income estimate for 2027 on HealthCare.gov.
4. Check your doctors and prescriptions against next year's plan.
5. Price at least one alternative, Marketplace and private.
6. Decide before December 15.

I am licensed in 31 states and work by phone or video, and I do not charge a fee. My state pages, like Florida health insurance, show local options. Send me your notice, or request a quote, and I will compare your renewal against everything else available to you.