Castellanos Health Solutions
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Florida uses the federal Marketplace rather than running its own exchange — and that changes which deadlines apply to you.
Get ahead of the deadline Call 239-841-6024Florida has no state-based exchange. We use HealthCare.gov, so Floridians follow the national schedule rather than a state-specific one.
For 2027 coverage that means enrollment opens November 1, 2026, and you should enroll by December 15, 2026 for coverage that begins January 1, 2027.
The final close date is genuinely unsettled this year. A 2025 federal rule would have ended enrollment December 15; a court vacated that rule in June 2026. Because it is still moving, we verify current deadlines directly rather than relying on last year's calendar — and we plan around December 15 regardless.
Search for enrollment deadlines and you will find conflicting answers. That is because a handful of states run their own exchanges and set their own dates — some open earlier, and some extend later than the federal deadline.
None of those extensions apply to Florida. Advice written for California or New York residents does not describe your deadline. This is one of the most common reasons people here think they have more time than they do.
If you moved to Florida from a state with its own exchange, assume the calendar you are used to no longer applies.
Whatever the final close date turns out to be, December 15 is the one to plan around. It is the cutoff for coverage starting January 1 in every state, and waiting past it means at best a later start date and at worst missing the year entirely.
Outside the enrollment window, the only way in is a Special Enrollment Period triggered by a qualifying life event — job loss, a move, marriage, a new baby — with a 60-day clock from the event.
Our advice every year is the same: reach out in October. The first two weeks of November are the busiest of the season, and earlier means more time to compare properly.
We track the dates so you don't have to. A short call in October means nothing sneaks up on you in December.
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