If you need health coverage starting with the new year, there are just a few more days to enroll in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans through healthcare.gov.
Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for plans that kick in on Jan. 1. If you miss that deadline, open enrollment continues through mid-January, but your coverage won’t start until February.
Federal subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act have lowered prices for many 2025 plans, said Shannon Hills, regional administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“In the Phoenix area, a single woman making $33,000 or less can find four plans under $10 a month. A 27-year-old man making $22,000 can expect to find eight plans under $10 a month,” Hills said. “So that’s exciting news for folks in Arizona.”
Hills encourages even those who were already enrolled this year to check 2025 options.
“Shop other plans that are available in your area. Who knows? Maybe you can find a plan that meets all of your needs and it might be available at a lower cost,” Hills said.
As of 2023, about 10% of Arizonans lacked health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — that’s one of the highest uninsured rates in the U.S.
Subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act have contributed to record-high enrollment in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage in recent years in Arizona and nationwide. But the subsidies are set to expire after 2025. If the subsidies are not extended, prices are expected to increase significantly for most healthcare.gov plans in 2026.
