Special Enrollment Period: Get ObamaCare Outside Open Enrollment
Updated October 13, 2026 · By the Arte Insurance team · 5-minute read
Open Enrollment for 2027 Marketplace (ObamaCare) coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Outside those dates, you can enroll in a plan or change plans only if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, usually because of a life event like losing coverage, moving, getting married or having a baby. In most cases you have 60 days to act. Here’s what counts, how long you have and when your coverage starts.
1. Life events that can qualify you
| Life event | Examples | Time to pick a plan |
|---|---|---|
| Losing health coverage | Losing job-based coverage (you can choose a Marketplace plan instead of COBRA), COBRA running out, aging off a parent’s plan (usually at 26), your plan being discontinued, losing Medicaid or CHIP | Up to 60 days before or 60 days after the loss. Up to 90 days after losing Medicaid or CHIP |
| Changes in your household | Getting married, having a baby, adopting a child, a foster care placement, gaining a dependent through a court order. Divorce or a death in the family, only if you lose your coverage | 60 days after the event |
| Moving | A new ZIP code or county, moving to the U.S. from another country or a U.S. territory, moving to or from school, a seasonal job, a shelter or transitional housing | 60 days after the move |
| Other changes | Becoming a U.S. citizen, gaining an eligible immigration status, leaving incarceration, starting or ending AmeriCorps service | Usually 60 days |
| A hurricane or other disaster | A disaster kept you from enrolling, and your county was approved for FEMA individual or public assistance | 60 days after the end of the FEMA incident period. Call the Marketplace |
If you’ll lose coverage soon (for example, you’re leaving a job or turning 26), you can pick a new plan up to 60 days before your old coverage ends, so you can avoid a gap. Losing a job? Compare COBRA and ObamaCare.
For a move or a marriage, you (or, for a marriage, at least one spouse) generally must have had qualifying health coverage for at least 1 day in the 60 days before. This doesn’t apply if you (or, for a marriage, one spouse) lived in another country or a U.S. territory for at least 1 day in those 60 days, and there are a few other exceptions.
If your income was too low for a tax credit: Florida didn’t expand Medicaid, so some adults with income under 100% of the poverty level don’t qualify for Medicaid or for a tax credit. If your income goes up and you now qualify for a tax credit, you may get a Special Enrollment Period. You have 60 days from the income increase.
2. What doesn’t qualify
- Dropping COBRA or other coverage on your own, or losing your plan because you didn’t pay your premiums.
- Moving only for medical treatment or for a vacation.
- A divorce or legal separation when you don’t lose your coverage.
- Wanting a different plan or a lower price, by itself.
If you don’t qualify, you’ll usually need to wait for Open Enrollment. But you can apply for Medicaid or CHIP any time of the year.
3. When your coverage starts
- Most life events: usually the first day of the month after you pick a plan.
- If you pick a plan before losing your coverage: your new plan can start the first day of the month after your old coverage ends.
- Marriage: pick a plan by the last day of the month, and your coverage starts the first day of the next month.
- Birth, adoption or foster care placement: your coverage can start on the day of the event, even if you enroll up to 60 days later.
You can’t use your new plan until you pay your first premium to the insurance company and, if the Marketplace asks for documents, it confirms that you qualify.
4. Documents you may need to send
When you apply, you confirm that your information is true. If the Marketplace needs proof, your Eligibility Notice will tell you. On HealthCare.gov, documents are mainly requested when you lost or will lose coverage. Keep proof of any life event (like a marriage certificate, a birth certificate or a new lease) in case you’re asked.
- Deadline: send them within 30 days after you pick a plan.
- What to send: a document that shows the coverage you lost (or will lose) and the date it ends, for example a letter or notice from your employer, your insurance company or Medicaid. If you’ve tried and still can’t get any acceptable document, you can send a letter of explanation instead.
- How to send them: upload them in your HealthCare.gov account (fastest), or mail photocopies, never originals. See HealthCare.gov asked for documents? for file types and the mailing address.
- If they’re not accepted: you’ll get a letter in your account that explains why, and you can upload different documents. If the Marketplace can’t confirm that you qualify, your plan selection can be canceled.
5. Already have a Marketplace plan?
Report the change in your HealthCare.gov application as soon as possible. Your updated eligibility results will say whether you qualify to change plans. In many cases, you can only switch to a plan in the same metal level (for example, Silver to Silver). There are exceptions, for example if you become newly eligible for extra savings, which come only with Silver plans.
6. How Arte Insurance helps
- We check whether your life event qualifies and how many days you have left.
- We compare plans with you and help you enroll before your deadline.
- If the Marketplace asks for documents, we help you choose the right ones and upload them.
Call us at (305) 440-8070 or request a free quote. We help in English and Spanish, and our help is free. Missed your window? Open Enrollment starts November 1: see ObamaCare Open Enrollment 2027 in Florida.
Arte Insurance is a private, licensed insurance agency (Florida license L116417). We are not HealthCare.gov or a government agency. You can also get help directly from the Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources: HealthCare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods · HealthCare.gov: other Special Enrollment Periods · HealthCare.gov: send documents to confirm a Special Enrollment Period · HealthCare.gov: changing plans · CMS: Understanding Special Enrollment Periods (PDF, January 2026) · CMS: SEP verification (PDF, March 2026)