Pennie Open Enrollment: What's Changing for 2027 Coverage
Open Enrollment is the one time each year when most Pennsylvanians can sign up for or switch health coverage through Pennie, Pennsylvania’s health insurance marketplace. This year, costs for coverage on Pennie have risen sharply, eligibility for financial help is narrowing for some lawfully present immigrants, and new rules mean fewer people can count on being renewed automatically. Here is what to expect and what to do.
When is Open Enrollment?
Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. To have coverage that begins January 1, 2027, you must enroll by December 15, 2026.
Marketplace enrollment dates have shifted more than once this year because of ongoing federal litigation, so it is worth confirming them before you rely on a deadline. A 2025 federal rule would have required every marketplace, including Pennie, to close enrollment by December 31 and to run a window no longer than nine weeks. In June 2026, a federal district court in Maryland vacated that requirement along with several other provisions of the same rule, and the federal government has appealed. Because Pennie is a state-based marketplace rather than one run on the federal platform, it sets its own dates within whatever federal rules are in effect. You can check current dates at pennie.com or by calling Pennie at 1-844-844-8040.
Why Coverage Costs More This Year
The enhanced federal premium tax credits that lowered marketplace premiums for several years expired at the end of December 2025, and Congress did not extend them. The result has been sharp premium increases for many households and substantial coverage losses across Pennsylvania.
Pennie finished the 2026 Open Enrollment Period with about 486,000 enrollees, down from a record 497,000 the year before, and roughly 40,000 more people dropped coverage in the four months that followed. All told, about one in three people who had Pennie coverage in 2025 are no longer enrolled. Pennie reports that enrollees consistently name cost as their reason for leaving.
If you dropped coverage because of price, it is still worth reviewing coverage options again. Plans and premiums change every year, and financial help is based on your income, your household size, and the plans available in your county.
Changes for Immigrants Starting January 1, 2027
H.R. 1 narrows who can receive financial help through the marketplace. Beginning January 1, 2027, advance premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions will be limited to three groups:
- Lawful permanent residents (green card holders)
- Cuban/Haitian entrants
- COFA migrants (citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau)
Many lawfully present immigrants who receive financial help today — including refugees, asylees, people granted withholding of removal, and survivors of trafficking and domestic violence — will no longer qualify for it. They may still be able to buy a plan through Pennie, but at full price. Pennie has estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 Pennsylvanians currently eligible for tax credits will lose that eligibility.
Separately, DACA recipients have been excluded from the definition of “lawfully present” since August 2025, which means they cannot enroll in a Pennie plan or receive financial help. That change remains in effect.
These marketplace changes arrive shortly after a separate set of restrictions on immigrant eligibility for Medical Assistance, which took effect October 1, 2026. For more on those, see our article on immigrant access to Medicaid.
Don't Assume You Will Be Automatically Renewed
In past years, most Pennie enrollees were renewed passively — their coverage rolled over to the next year without them doing anything. That is changing, and the safest approach this year is to log in and take action to keep your coverage.
Update your income
Accurate income information matters more than it used to. Financial help is calculated from your projected income, and if you receive more tax credit during the year than you turn out to be entitled to, you may have to repay it at tax time. Federal changes have increased the amounts people can be required to pay back.
Check that your financial help carried over
If you previously gave Pennie permission to verify your income using tax data, your financial help should carry forward at a similar level. If you did not, you may see plans listed at full cost when you log in. That is fixable — contact Pennie or resubmit your application to have your financial help applied.
Automatic renewal is ending
Under H.R. 1, marketplaces will be required to receive an annual affirmation from each enrollee. In practical terms, people who do not confirm or update their information will not be renewed into coverage for the following year. This requirement takes effect for the enrollment period held in the fall of 2027, for 2028 coverage — but building the habit of logging in each year now will spare you a lapse in coverage later.
If You Are Losing Medicaid
People who lose Medicaid (Medical Assistance) — whether because of the immigrant eligibility changes, the new work requirements, or six-month renewals — are generally referred to Pennie. Losing other coverage is a qualifying life event, which opens a Special Enrollment Period giving you 60 days to enroll in a Pennie plan outside the normal window.
Do not wait out the 60 days. If you miss that window and no other qualifying event applies, you will have to wait for the next Open Enrollment Period. One further change worth knowing: the monthly Special Enrollment Period that allowed people with household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level to enroll at any time is no longer available with financial help.
What to Do Now
- Mark the deadline. Confirm this year’s dates at pennie.com and enroll by the deadline for January 1 coverage rather than the final deadline, so you do not end up with a gap.
- Log in to your Pennie account. Do not assume your plan will roll over unchanged.
- Update your income and household information, and confirm your mailing address, phone number, and email so you receive notices.
- Compare plans, even if you are happy with yours. Plans, networks, and prices change every year, and your current plan may no longer be the best value.
- Get free help. Pennie-certified assisters and brokers help at no cost, in many languages.
Where to Get Help
Pennie Customer Service can be reached at 1-844-844-8040, and free local help is listed at pennie.com/connect. You can also call PHLP’s Helpline at 1-800-274-3258 if you have lost Medicaid, believe a coverage decision was wrong, or need help understanding your options.