ACA Marketplace Subsidies Without Tax-Time Surprises

  1. Identify the Marketplace that serves your address
    15 min

    One of two systems runs your enrollment. HealthCare.gov serves residents of most states directly. The remaining states run their own state-based Marketplace — Covered California, NY State of Health, Connect for Health Colorado, and others — with its own website, its own Open Enrollment dates, and its own support line. Your address decides which one you use; there is no choosing.

    Start at HealthCare.gov either way: entering your state or ZIP routes you correctly in one step. Before moving on, record three things — the Marketplace’s name, its Open Enrollment window, and its phone number. The federal window is November 1 through January 15; a state-based Marketplace may set different dates, so trust what its own pages publish. HealthCare.gov’s line is 1-800-318-2596 (TTY 1-855-889-4325); state Marketplaces list theirs on their contact pages.