When is open enrollment for 2025?

Need to find, change, or cancel your health insurance? The open enrollment period is the time to do it. So when is open enrollment? It depends on how you get your health insurance. Here’s when enrollment periods run for different government health insurance programs, plus when you’re likely to be able to enroll in employer-sponsored plans.

What is open enrollment?

Open enrollment is the time of year when people may review, select, or modify their health insurance coverage. Usually lasting for a few weeks in the fall, this tends to be the only period when anyone can enroll in or make changes to their health insurance coverage (unless there is a special exception). Both employers and the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace have open enrollment periods for people to enroll in health insurance and other benefits, if applicable.

When is open enrollment for Healthcare.gov?

Open enrollment for health insurance coverage starting in 2026 through Healthcare.gov—aka the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace—runs from November 1, 2025 through January 15, 2026, for residents of most states. If you complete your application by December 15, 2025 and pay your first premium, your coverage begins January 1, 2026.

Some states and districts use their own state-based marketplaces independent of the federal platform. Some of their open enrollment periods coincide with Healthcare.gov’s; some are slightly different. (Keep reading for those open enrollment dates.)

When is open enrollment if you get health insurance through your employer?

Open enrollment for health insurance coverage and other employer-sponsored insurance plans (such as vision, dental, and life) typically runs for 2 to 4 weeks, often (but not always) in October or November. Your benefits or human resources department should notify you in advance of this period.

When is the Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare?

The Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare is October 15 to December 7 each year, but that period is for people who have previously enrolled in Medicare. When you first become eligible for Medicare, generally in the month you turn age 65, you’re supposed to enroll during your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), which begins 3 months before your 65th birthday month and lasts until 3 months after your birthday month. If you are born on the first of the month, your initial enrollment period begins 4 months before the month you turn age 65 and concludes 2 months after it, with coverage taking effect as early as the month before you turn age 65. If you miss your IEP window, you may have to apply during the General Enrollment Period, which lasts from January 1 to March 31 every year. Waiting for this period could come with lifetime late enrollment penalties that may be added to your premiums for as long as you are enrolled in Medicare, unless there are qualifying extenuating circumstances that waive the fee.

When is open enrollment for Medicaid?

There isn’t a specific open enrollment period for Medicaid. Eligible individuals can currently apply any time of year.

What types of government insurance don’t use open enrollment?

Medicaid, which typically provides insurance to lower income individuals, families, and other mandatory eligibility groups, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides low-cost coverage for kids and pregnant women whose families are above Medicaid’s income threshold, don’t use open enrollment. These joint federal-and-state insurance programs use the federal poverty levels as a guideline for determining state income thresholds. Since anyone’s income can drop any time of year, enrollment to Medicaid and CHIP is rolling.

Open enrollment dates

Open enrollment deadlines for state-based marketplace insurance can vary slightly from state to state, but within each state, the dates tend to stay consistent from year to year. If you don’t see your state in this chart, it’s because its residents can sign up for health insurance at Healthcare.gov. Here are the opening and closing dates for open enrollment if you get your health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace or a state-based marketplace, and even an estimated period for employer-sponsored health insurance.

Can I get health insurance any time of year?

If you’re seeking health insurance through Medicaid, CHIP, or soon after starting a new job outside of an employer’s typical open enrollment period, the date on the calendar likely won’t impact your ability to enroll in insurance. However, for health insurance plans through Medicare, there are specific time frames and events that dictate when you can enroll.

If you get your health insurance through Healthcare.gov or your current employer, the open enrollment period may be your only chance to sign up or make changes. If you don’t, you might be out of luck until the next open enrollment period, unless you experience a qualifying life event.

How can you get health insurance if you miss the open enrollment period?

Looking for an exception to the rule? Here are some life events that may warrant special enrollment periods that fall outside of the mandatory open enrollment dates:

Changes to your household

• Getting married
• Welcoming a child through birth, adoption, or foster care placement
• Divorce or legal separation
• Losing coverage because someone on your plan dies

Residence changes

• Moving to a new ZIP code or county
• Returning to the US from living abroad
• Moving to or from school (as a student), a seasonal work location, or a shelter

Loss of health insurance

• If you or anyone in your household lost coverage in the past 60 days or expects to lose it in the next 60 days

Other life events

• Becoming a US citizen
• Ending incarceration
• Starting or ending service as an AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, or National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) member
• A natural disaster or uncontrollable event forces you to miss the open enrollment window
• Starting a new job (your new employer will grant access to its employer-sponsored health insurance plan outside of the typical enrollment window)

To find out if you are eligible for Medicare or Healthcare.gov’s Special Enrollment Period, visit Medicare.gov or Healthcare.gov/screener.

What to consider when getting health insurance

However you get health insurance, you likely will have a choice between plans. Here are some elements to factor into your decision:

Cost

Consider:

• Annual premiums: what you pay for a year of coverage
• Deductible: what you pay for your covered health care costs each plan year before your insurance starts to kick in for covered expenses
• Copay and coinsurance: the flat fee and percentage of costs you pay for each covered health care service or prescription after your deductible is met
• Out-of-pocket maximum: the most you could pay for health care expenses within a plan year

Plan type

You may be presented with an alphabet soup of options, including a health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO), point of service (POS), and high-deductible health plan (HDHP), which each come with pros and cons. For instance, one potential advantage of a HDHP is pairing it with a health savings account (HSA). That’s an investment account that offers tax-advantaged ways to save and pay for qualified medical expenses, and your employer might contribute to it on your behalf too. Learn more about how to choose the right plan for you.

Plan networks

Each health insurance plan has a group of providers they’ve contracted to offer services at a certain cost. The size of this network and accessibility of these providers can affect your costs and ease of getting appointments.

Your health needs

Check how past coverage has suited you and what changes, if any, you’d like to make. Also think about whether you’d rather pay high costs upfront and lower costs for service, or the other way around as with an HDHP and potentially pay less for premiums, and get an HSA to help offset higher service costs.