Reminder: 2026 Open Enrollment isn't over yet! 49 states + DC still have time for Feb. 1st coverage!

Welcome to 2026, for good or bad.

Now that we're into January and there have been several more Open Enrollment deadline extensions, it's time for another updated rundown of the remaining deadlines are for every state and what your options are if you miss them.

This is basically a standalone version of the first section of my annual Open Enrollment Guide; I hope that separating it out will make it less overwhelming.

IDAHO: December 15th was the only deadline for 2026 coverage. If you missed it, you're out of luck unless you qualify for one of the following exceptions:

• Members of federally-recognized Native American tribes or Alaska Natives can enroll in ACA coverage year-round.

• If you're eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), you can enroll year-round.

• If you become eligible for a 60-day Special Enrollment Period due to having a qualifying life event like losing your existing coverage, getting married/divorced, giving birth/adopting, turning 26, getting out of prison, etc.

Here's the official deadlines for coverage starting February 1st for every state:

• California: January 31st
• Connecticut: January 31st (extended!)
• District of Columbia: January 31st
• Massachusetts: January 23rd
• New Jersey: January 31st
• New York: January 31st
• Pennsylvania: January 31st (extended!)
• Rhode Island: January 31st
• Virginia: January 30th
• Idaho: n/a (Special Enrollment only)
• Washington: January 15th*
• ALL OTHER STATES: January 15th

*WA residents can even get coverage retroactive to January 1st utilizing the emergency Special Enrollment Period due to the recent flooding.

As noted above, if you miss any of these deadlines, you can still enroll year-round if you're a member of a Native American tribe, an Alaska Native, are eligible for Medicaid/CHIP, or if you're eligible for a Special Enrollment Period.

There are several state-specific programs which also allow eligible enrollees to do so year round, including:

• Connecticut: Covered Connecticut
• District of Columbia: Healthy DC (Basic Health Plan)
• Massachusetts: ConnectorCare
• Minnesota: MinnesotaCare (Basic Health Plan)
• New York: Essential Plan (Basic Health Plan)
• Oregon: Bridge Program (Basic Health Plan)

WHAT IF I WANT TO CHANGE MY PLAN?

If you either selected (or more likely were automatically re-enrolled) into a policy which you then realized wasn't the best option for you for whatever reason, in every state except for Idaho, you still have until the deadlines listed above to switch to a different policy for coverage starting February 1st.

This will be particularly important for millions of enrollees if Congressional Republicans actually agree to allow the enhanced ACA tax credits to be extended, as many people will find that they'll be much better off with a different policy thanks to the additional financial assistance.

I should note that if that happens, whatever subsidy extension bill gets passed will almost certainly also include a 2026 Open Enrollment Period deadline extension as well, which would give all enrollees more time to either enroll (if they haven't done so yet) or switch policies if they already did.

It's also important to keep in mind, however, that in most cases, switching policies will mean that your deductible & out of pocket cap will be reset again. That is, if you rack up $500 in deductible claims in January, it will reset to $0 on the new policy starting in February. This is unfortunate but understandable if you're switching from one insurance carrier to another.

I should note that back in 2021, when the enhanced tax credits were originally signed into law by President Biden and Open Enrollment was extended by months in response to the COVID pandemic, some states like California and New Hampshire were able to get their insurance carriers to agree to carry over existing deductible/out-of-pocket credit to the enrollees new plans after all. I don't know if that would happen in 2026 but it's conceivable in some cases.