Residents without employer coverage will have Nov. 1 through Jan. 31 to choose a 2027 plan, although final premiums remain unsettled.
TRENTON, N.J. New Jersey will preserve a three-month enrollment period for its state health-insurance marketplace, giving residents until Jan. 31, 2027, to select coverage through Get Covered New Jersey.
The Department of Banking and Insurance announced Aug. 10 that enrollment for the 2027 plan year will run from Nov. 1, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027. The decision restores the schedule New Jersey has historically used and rejects a shorter federal timetable that would have ended enrollment by Dec. 31.
A 2025 federal rule would have limited marketplace enrollment to no more than nine weeks, beginning no later than Nov. 1 and ending no later than Dec. 31. A federal court subsequently vacated the shortened-enrollment provision. The state’s Aug. 10 bulletin says that ruling restored New Jersey’s authority to set the longer period. The original federal timetable is described in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule summary.
The extra month improves access, but it does not resolve the marketplace’s affordability problem.
New Jersey reported 434,700 marketplace enrollees as of June 30, a net decline of 74,492 since enrollment closed Jan. 31, 2026. The state attributes much of the pressure to the expiration of enhanced federal premium tax credits, which increased what many households had to pay for 2026 coverage.
The department says New Jersey should expect additional premium increases in 2027 because of medical and prescription-drug costs and changes in the mix of people remaining in the insurance pool. Insurers are still finalizing rates. The department reviews filings for legal compliance and completeness, but individual-market rate filings are not subject to prior state approval.
Get Covered New Jersey serves residents who lack employer-sponsored insurance and are not eligible for programs such as Medicare or NJ FamilyCare. Outside open enrollment, residents generally need a qualifying life event, such as marriage, pregnancy or a move, to enter a plan through a special enrollment period.
State assistance remains available through NJ Health Plan Savings for qualifying households with income up to 600% of the federal poverty level. Standard federal advance premium tax credits also remain available to eligible applicants. The exact amount depends on household income, family size and the plan selected.
Residents can compare coverage at GetCovered.NJ.gov. Free, certified enrollment help is available through the state’s local Navigator and assister directory.
People renewing coverage should review their options even if automatic renewal is offered. Premiums, provider networks, prescription coverage and financial assistance can change from one year to the next.