HealthCare.gov and the state-run exchanges generally process auto-renewals on or around December 16. In most states, the deadline to pick a new plan with a January 1 effective date is December 15, so the auto-renewals are processed soon after that, for people who haven’t actively selected their own plan for the coming year.
For 2018 through 2021, open enrollment ended on December 15 in most states. That meant that in most parts of the country, people couldn’t make a different plan selection after their existing coverage was auto-renewed, unless they had a qualifying event that triggered a special enrollment period.
But starting with the open enrollment period for 2022 coverage, the enrollment window in most states has been extended through January 15. HHS noted that this was partly to ensure that people whose coverage is auto-renewed would still have a chance to pick a different plan if the auto-renewed plan’s benefits or pricing were to catch a person off-guard at the start of the new year. This could happen, for instance, if a person doesn’t closely read the notices they get from the marketplace and/or their insurer in the fall, leading up to open enrollment.
State-run exchanges (ie, states that don’t use HealthCare.gov) can still choose to keep their enrollment deadline at December 15, and HHS has given them the option to do this. For 2023 coverage, Idaho and Maryland have indicated that they will end open enrollment on December 15, 2022, although last-minute extensions could still be issued. But in most of the country, changes can still be made until at least January 15.
Understand, however, that plan changes made after December 15, in nearly all states, will take effect February 1, rather than January 1. So if a plan auto-renews and then you select a new plan in the latter half of December, you’ll have your auto-renewed coverage for January, and then your new plan would take effect in February. So it’s still important to pay attention to the information that the exchange and your insurer send you in the fall, and make whatever changes you want to make by December 15.