Your Health Plan Is Being Discontinued for 2027. Here Is What to Do

What a discontinuation notice actually means

Insurers redesign their plan lineups every year. When a plan is retired, the insurer has to tell you in writing. Federal rules generally require at least 90 days' notice when a specific plan is discontinued, and 180 days when an insurer leaves a state's individual market entirely. Most notices arrive in September and October, right before open enrollment.

Your coverage does not stop today. The plan you have keeps working, claims and all, through December 31, 2026. What ends is the plan's renewal. On January 1, 2027 you will be in whatever plan you choose, or in whatever plan you are placed in if you choose nothing.

The notice usually says one of two things:

• "Your plan is being replaced." The insurer stays in your area and maps you to a different plan it will sell in 2027.
• "We are leaving your area." The insurer will not sell individual plans in your county next year, so you need a plan from someone else.

Why "do nothing" is the expensive option

On HealthCare.gov, if you take no action, you may be automatically re-enrolled into a replacement plan the Marketplace picks for you, sometimes from a different insurer. Automatic re-enrollment is meant to prevent a gap. It is not meant to find you the best value.

A replacement plan can differ from your old one in ways that matter:

• A different network. Your doctors or your nearest hospital may not be in it.
• A different deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. For 2027, the federal cap on out-of-pocket costs is $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family.
• A different drug list. A medication that was covered at a low tier may move or drop off.
• A different price. Rates are up again for 2027, and your credit may be smaller than you expect.

Read the replacement plan's summary of benefits before you accept it, the same way you would read any new plan. Our guide on how to read a health insurance quote walks through the numbers.

The 2027 dates that matter

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027.

1. December 15, 2026. Pick a plan by this date for coverage that starts January 1. This is the one to circle.
2. January 15, 2027. The last day of open enrollment. A plan chosen after December 15 generally starts February 1, which can leave a one-month gap if your old plan ends December 31.
3. States with their own exchange set their own dates, so confirm yours.

Losing a plan to discontinuation can also open a special enrollment period, generally 60 days before and after the coverage ends. For a calendar-year plan that overlaps with open enrollment, so the practical deadline is still December 15.

The subsidy picture changed too

If your plan was bought with a premium tax credit, recheck the credit before you pick a replacement. The enhanced credits that ran through 2025 are gone, and for 2027 help stops at 400 percent of the federal poverty level: $63,840 for one person and $86,560 for two. A household slightly over the line gets no credit at all. Our ACA subsidy cliff guide explains how that cliff works and how to estimate where you land.

If you are well under the line, a Marketplace plan with a credit is often the right replacement. If you are over it, you are shopping at full price, and that is when it pays to look at more than one kind of plan.

Put a private plan next to the replacement

A discontinuation notice is a natural moment to price a private, medically underwritten plan, especially if your household is healthy and your income sits above the subsidy line. Here is how they differ from Marketplace plans:

• Priced on age, ZIP code and health, not income, so the subsidy cliff does not apply.
• You answer health questions to apply, and approval depends on those answers. It is not guaranteed.
• If approved, coverage can start on the first of a month you choose, so you can line it up with the day your old plan ends.
• Benefits and pre-existing condition rules vary by plan. Private plans are not ACA Marketplace plans, so read the plan documents carefully.

Because approval is not guaranteed, timing matters. Apply for the private plan early in November. If you are approved, you can set the start date to January 1. If you are not, you still have until December 15 to choose a Marketplace plan with no gap. Our guide on how medical underwriting works explains the questions and the decision.

A five-step plan for the next two weeks

1. Find the notice and note which kind it is. Replacement or market exit.
2. List your must-haves. Doctors, hospitals, prescriptions and any planned procedure in 2027.
3. Update your 2027 income estimate on the Marketplace application, so the credit you see is real.
4. Compare three things side by side: the replacement plan, the best other Marketplace plan for your doctors, and a private plan if your household is healthy.
5. Decide by early December, so a declined private application still leaves you time to enroll on the Marketplace by December 15.

When the Marketplace is clearly the answer

If anyone in your household has a significant ongoing health condition, the Marketplace is usually the safer home. It must accept you during open enrollment and cannot price you on health. The same is true if your income falls well under the subsidy line, because the credit can make a Marketplace plan the better value. I will tell you plainly when that is your situation.

What if you bought outside the Marketplace?

ACA plans bought directly from an insurer get discontinued too, and the notice works the same way. The difference is that there is no credit to recheck. If you were paying full price off-Marketplace already, comparing a private plan and the best on-Marketplace option is the same exercise, just without the income math.

Let's compare your options

I am licensed in 31 states, including Florida, Texas and Georgia, and everything runs by phone or video in English or Spanish. Send your discontinuation notice, your ZIP code, the ages on the plan and your doctors, and I will lay out the replacement plan, the best Marketplace alternative and a private option side by side. You can request a quote or call (786) 218-2384. If your notice was a price increase rather than a discontinuation, start with what to do when your premium went up.