The ACA open enrollment period for 2026 ended Jan. 15, as a tumultuous battle over enhanced subsidies continues.
The possible return of subsidies may no longer mean much for this year.
Here are six things to know about how the period went:
1. Last March, CMS suggested shortening the ACA open enrollment period, keeping the same Nov. 1 start date and closing the window a month early in December. However, this recent period wraps Jan. 15.
2. While ACA open enrollment is over at the federal level, some states are not done with their shopping just yet. Illinois, Connecticut and Pennsylvania opted for their state-run exchanges to offer more time for residents to decide, extending the enrollment deadline until Jan. 31 for coverage starting in February.
3. ACA marketplace enrollment dropped to 22.8 million for 2026, down 3.4% from the same time last year, according to preliminary CMS data published Jan. 12. New consumer sign-ups have fallen about 12%. On Dec. 23, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, credited the decline to anti-fraud efforts.
4. Following the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia face the steepest coverage losses.
5. Vermont, Wyoming, West Virginia, Alaska and Connecticut have the most expensive average ACA benchmark premiums for 2026.
6. Democratic congressional lawmakers introduced a bill pitching a federal public health insurance option to be available on the marketplace for 2027.
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