Your Insurance Detective › Colorado › Open enrollment 2027
When Is Connect for Health Colorado Open Enrollment for 2027? Dates, the December 15 Deadline, and What Changed
Written and reviewed by Dick Tracy, licensed health insurance broker (NPN 20414610) · Published October 3, 2026
Quick answer Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. Enroll by December 15, 2026 and your plan starts January 1, 2027. Enroll from December 16 through January 15 and it starts February 1, with January uncovered if you have no plan now. The Colorado Division of Insurance approved an average 10% increase for individual plans (insurers asked for an average of 11%), from 5.9% to 15.5% depending on where you live. Health First Colorado has no window at all. Neither do the group plans I use for healthy self-employed people. I educate, you decide.
I'm Dick Tracy, a health insurance broker. I'm licensed in Colorado, one of 25 states I hold a license in, and I work with 80+ carriers from my office in Buffalo, New York, by phone or Zoom. I came from the healthcare side of this business, so there's no gag clause on me. You get the tips, the tricks, and the traps. The trap on this page: the window closes January 15, but the date that matters is December 15. Miss it with no plan in place and you start the year with a month of no coverage.
and runs through Jan. 15, 2027
for a Jan. 1, 2027 start
individual plans (asked: 11%)
Sources: Connect for Health Colorado, What's New: Changes for Plan Year 2027 (2027 window and the December 15 cutoff); Colorado Division of Insurance, final approved premiums for plan year 2027, September 22, 2026; Colorado Division of Insurance, preliminary 2027 release, July 22, 2026 (the requested 11%). Last verified October 3, 2026.
What are the Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment dates for 2027?
The dates come from Connect for Health Colorado's own pages, read on October 3, 2026. None of these dates is a guess. The exchange also answers the question a lot of people are asking this year. "Are Open Enrollment dates changing? No."
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Now | The exchange's Estimate & Explore tool is loaded with 2027 plans and prices. You can look. You cannot enroll yet. |
| October 20 to 27, 2026 | Scheduled maintenance. Connect for Health Colorado says its website, application, and customer service will be unavailable. |
| November 1, 2026 | Open enrollment begins for 2027 coverage. Eligible returning customers are automatically re-enrolled at the start of the window. |
| December 15, 2026 | Last day to enroll for coverage that starts January 1, 2027. |
| January 1, 2027 | New plan year begins. New deductible, new out-of-pocket maximum, new rates. |
| January 15, 2027 | Open enrollment ends. Enroll from December 16 through this date and coverage starts February 1. |
| March 1, 2027 | End of the special enrollment period for people whose Cigna plan is going away (more on that below). |
Sources: Connect for Health Colorado, What's New ("Open Enrollment will run from Nov. 1, 2026, through Jan. 15, 2027"; "Coloradans who enroll by Dec. 15, 2026, will have coverage effective Jan. 1, 2027"; the Cigna special enrollment period); Connect for Health Colorado, Preparing Early for Open Enrollment, September 25, 2026 (Estimate & Explore); Connect for Health Colorado, Preparing for Plan Year 2027, August 31, 2026 (automatic re-enrollment); the maintenance notice is the banner on the exchange's site.
One thing about that automatic renewal. The exchange is blunt about it: being re-enrolled "doesn't guarantee" that your premium, your financial help, your benefits, or your provider network stay the same. Auto-renewal keeps you covered. It does not keep you in the right plan. Open the renewal notice, read the new price, and decide on purpose.
How much are Colorado health insurance rates going up in 2027?
About 10% on average if you buy your own plan, and about 14% if you are in a small group plan. Those are the final approved numbers the Colorado Division of Insurance released on September 22, 2026. In July the insurers had requested an average of 11% for individual plans. The Division says its review saved consumers $42,136,281 for plan year 2027, and it puts Colorado's 10% next to a 15% national median.
Averages hide the story, though. Colorado prices by rating area, so where you live moves your number. Here is every area:
| Rating area | Individual plans, approved average increase | Small group plans, approved average increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1: Boulder | 12% | 15.2% |
| 2: Colorado Springs | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| 3: Denver | 10.8% | 14.6% |
| 4: Fort Collins | 9.5% | 10.8% |
| 5: Grand Junction | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 6: Greeley | 10.0% | 11.4% |
| 7: Pueblo | 10.4% | 15.0% |
| 8: East (non-metro) | 5.9% | 9.9% |
| 9: West (non-metro) | 11.8% | 14.6% |
| Statewide average | 10% | 14% |
Source: Colorado Division of Insurance, "Division of Insurance Announces Final ACA Health Insurance Premium Increases for Plan Year 2027," September 22, 2026 (average approved rate increase by rating area; area names from the release's reinsurance table). The requested 11% is from the Division's July 22, 2026 preliminary release. These are averages across every insurer and plan in an area. Your own plan's change is on your renewal notice.
Read that table like a detective. An area average is not your number. Your letter is. If your letter is well above your area's average, that is your cue to shop, not to sigh and pay it. I explain the "why" behind these letters in Why did my health insurance go up?
What else changed for 2027 on Connect for Health Colorado?
| Change | What it means |
|---|---|
| One insurer out, one in | Cigna will no longer offer individual or family medical plans starting in 2027. Current Cigna medical coverage stays in place through December 31, 2026, and affected customers get a special enrollment period until March 1, 2027. The Division of Insurance says a new carrier, Colorado Access, joins the individual market. |
| The dates stay put | The exchange says the 2027 window "will be consistent with previous year's timing." Colorado runs its own exchange. |
| Automatic re-enrollment at the start | The exchange says eligible returning customers "will see a change in autorenewals this year": they are automatically re-enrolled at the start of open enrollment. It still tells them to review the renewal and compare plans during the window. |
| More plans on the shelf | Starting with plan year 2027, customers who do not qualify for financial help may also see off-exchange plans when they shop through Connect for Health Colorado. Customers who qualify for help see only the plans eligible for it. |
| Enhanced federal credits are still gone | The bigger federal premium tax credits were not extended. The Division of Insurance says that roughly doubled premium costs, on average, for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans for 2026. Above 400% of the federal poverty level there is no federal credit: one dollar over and it is zero. That is the subsidy cliff. Colorado's Medicaid agency puts the line at about $63,840 for one person and about $132,000 for a family of four, which is 400% of the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines. |
| No cap on paying credits back | The IRS says that for tax years after 2025 there is no repayment cap. If your advance credit turns out bigger than the credit you were allowed, you repay the full difference at tax time. |
| Colorado Premium Assistance continues | This is state money on top of the federal credit. The exchange lists it as $80 for the first household member and $29 for each additional member who pays a premium, or your remaining premium if that is smaller. Those are the amounts listed on October 3, 2026, and the exchange has not said whether they change for 2027. It is applied automatically, and the exchange says you do not pay it back if your income changes. Colorado passed SB26-178 this year to keep funding it. The Division of Insurance estimates customers getting financial help will see a net increase of about $20 a month from 2026 to 2027, against $69 a month without the state help. |
| Other federal changes | The exchange warns that some people may see additional verification requirements, changes to when and how financial help is determined, updated special enrollment rules, and new Health Savings Account options on some Bronze and Catastrophic plans. It says some of these take effect in future plan years, has not said which apply to 2027, and is monitoring federal guidance. |
Sources: Connect for Health Colorado, What's New (Cigna, dates, SB26-178, other federal changes); Connect for Health Colorado, Preparing for Plan Year 2027 (automatic re-enrollment, off-exchange plans); Colorado Division of Insurance, September 22, 2026 (Colorado Access, expired credits, the $20 and $69 estimates); Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, buying health insurance (the tax credit income lines); HHS, 2026 poverty guidelines ($15,960 for one person, $33,000 for four); IRS, questions and answers on the premium tax credit (no repayment cap after 2025); Connect for Health Colorado, Colorado Premium Assistance (the $80 and $29 amounts as listed on October 3, 2026; the page does not say whether they change for 2027).
The cliff is the one to respect. Under the line, guess your income low and the IRS takes the difference back at tax time, with no cap. Over it, you pay sticker. Run the free 2026 subsidy cliff calculator and check the Connect for Health Colorado income limits before you fall in love with a monthly number. The calculator uses the 2026 coverage line, $62,600 for one person. For 2027 coverage the line is $63,840 by my arithmetic (400% of the 2026 guideline of $15,960), and that matches the figure Colorado's Medicaid agency prints.
Which Colorado coverage has no open enrollment window?
More than most people think. The November to January window governs regular marketplace plans. It does not govern the programs below.
| Type of coverage | When you can start it |
|---|---|
| Connect for Health Colorado plan, full price or with financial help | November 1 to January 15, or within 60 days of a qualifying life event |
| Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid program) | Any time of year, if you qualify. There is no open enrollment period. |
| Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) | Any time of year, if you meet the monthly income requirements. |
| Members of federally recognized tribes | Year-round enrollment through the exchange. |
| Dental plan through the exchange | The exchange lists the same open enrollment window, November 1 through January 15. |
| A pre-established ERISA group plan | Group plans are not tied to the individual open enrollment calendar |
Sources: Connect for Health Colorado, When can I buy insurance? (60-day special enrollment period, Health First Colorado and CHP+ "any time of year," tribal members year-round); Connect for Health Colorado, Health First Colorado ("There is no open enrollment period for Health First Colorado"); Connect for Health Colorado, New Customers (dental plans during open enrollment, November 1 through January 15).
One more program keeps its own calendar. OmniSalud is Colorado's enrollment path for residents who cannot use the regular exchange because of immigration status. Its SilverEnhanced Savings help is limited, so there is a lottery: entries run November 1 through November 30, 2026, the drawing is December 1, selected customers have until December 31 to enroll for a January 1 start, and January 15 is the last day for a February 1 start (Connect for Health Colorado, OmniSalud).
What is the special enrollment period, and what counts?
Outside the window, a regular marketplace plan takes a qualifying life event. The exchange's list includes losing health insurance from your job, getting married or divorced, a birth or adoption, moving to Colorado, turning 26 and aging off a parent's plan, and, for people already enrolled, certain income changes. You get a 60-day special enrollment period (Connect for Health Colorado, When can I buy insurance?). If you are losing Health First Colorado, the exchange says you can enroll as early as 60 days before that coverage ends or up to 60 days after.
Two things to know. The insurance company may ask you to prove the event, so keep the letter. And the exchange asks you to report changes in household size, income, or address within 30 days. Sixty days sounds like a lot. It is not when you spend the first six weeks hoping the problem goes away. Decide on purpose, not by default.
What should I actually do before November 1?
Here is the part the marketplace's own materials will never tell you, because it is not their job. The November to January calendar governs individual plans, not group coverage. Marketplace plans cover pre-existing conditions and take everyone, with no health questions. That protects sick people, and it is the right thing for them. It also leaves a healthy owner paying full price with one other door worth pricing first.
That door is the pre-established ERISA group plan. ERISA is a federal law from 1974 that governs employer benefit plans. Group plans already exist under it, and a solo owner can be merged into one. Group rates. A true PPO network of the PHCS and MultiPlan type instead of a regional network. A policy you own and keep. No payroll, no employees required, and one simple compliance step I walk you through. Here is the full breakdown.
The second door is Connect for Health Colorado. The third is the supplemental layer for the deductible: accident, critical illness, and gap coverage on top of a real plan, never instead of one. And sometimes the honest answer is a marketplace plan. I will tell you which, with the numbers next to each other.
Healthy, self-employed, income over the subsidy line
Price the pre-established ERISA group plan first, then the marketplace plans at full price against it. Your renewal letter's percentage is the tiebreaker. The Colorado doors, in order, are here.
Income under the subsidy line
A subsidized plan with Colorado Premium Assistance, or Health First Colorado, may be your best deal, and I will tell you so. The trade-offs: often a regional network, an income estimate you have to get right, and repayment of the federal credit at tax time with no cap if you guess low. Run the subsidy calculator, preset for Colorado, then bring me the number.
Small business owner with a few employees
Small group plans are up about 14% on average for 2027, and as much as 15.2% by area. Three routes: a traditional small group plan, the pre-established ERISA group plan, or no group plan at all. I customize the plan based on the situation. Often that's cost-effective, customized individual plans instead of a one-size-fits-all group plan.
On a Cigna individual plan today
Your plan ends December 31, 2026, and you have until March 1, 2027 to pick a new one. Do not lean on the extra time. Picking by December 15 is the sure way to have January covered. The exchange also warns that if you change plans before open enrollment, the new insurer will not honor the deductible you already paid down this year. A plan picked during open enrollment for January 1 does not have that problem, because every deductible starts over on January 1 anyway.
Lost coverage in the middle of the year
The clock is 60 days. Call me in week one, not week eight, and we price COBRA against every other door before the clock runs out.
A serious diagnosis in the last five years
Guaranteed-issue coverage, for now. Marketplace plans take everyone with no health questions. Take that protection, do not miss December 15, and we revisit the other doors later.
Common questions about Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment 2027
When is Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment for 2027?
Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027, according to the exchange. Colorado runs its own marketplace, and the exchange says the 2027 window is consistent with the previous year's timing.
What is the deadline for Colorado coverage that starts January 1, 2027?
December 15, 2026. Connect for Health Colorado says people who enroll by December 15, 2026 have coverage effective January 1, 2027. People who enroll from December 16, 2026 through January 15, 2027 have coverage effective February 1, 2027, which leaves January uncovered if you have no plan now.
When does open enrollment end in Colorado for 2027?
January 15, 2027. That is the last day to enroll in a 2027 Connect for Health Colorado plan without a qualifying life event, and a plan picked that late starts February 1. After January 15 you need a special enrollment period, unless you qualify for Health First Colorado or Child Health Plan Plus, which enroll all year.
How much are Colorado health insurance rates going up in 2027?
The Colorado Division of Insurance approved an average increase of 10% for individual plans and 14% for small group plans for 2027, announced September 22, 2026. Insurers had requested an average of 11% for individual plans in July. By rating area, the approved individual increases run from 5.9% in the East non-metro area to 15.5% in Grand Junction, with Denver at 10.8%. Your own plan's change is on your renewal notice.
Can I enroll in Health First Colorado outside open enrollment?
Yes. Connect for Health Colorado says Coloradans can sign up for Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, any time during the year if they qualify, and that there is no open enrollment period for it. The same is true for Child Health Plan Plus. Members of federally recognized tribes can also enroll in marketplace coverage year-round.
What is the special enrollment period on Connect for Health Colorado?
A special enrollment period is a 60-day window to enroll or change plans outside open enrollment after a qualifying life event, such as losing health insurance from your job, getting married or divorced, having or adopting a child, moving to Colorado, or turning 26 and aging off a parent's plan. If you are losing Health First Colorado, you can enroll as early as 60 days before that coverage ends or up to 60 days after. Your insurance company may ask for proof of the event.
What happens to my Cigna plan in Colorado in 2027?
Cigna will no longer offer individual or family medical plans beginning in 2027. Connect for Health Colorado says current Cigna medical coverage remains in place through December 31, 2026, and affected customers qualify for a special enrollment period until March 1, 2027. Picking a new plan by December 15, 2026 is the sure way to have January 1 covered.
Do I have to wait for open enrollment to get health insurance in Colorado?
Only for a regular marketplace plan with no qualifying event. Health First Colorado and Child Health Plan Plus enroll year-round if you qualify. Losing coverage mid-year opens a 60-day special enrollment period. Group coverage is not tied to the individual calendar, and that includes the pre-established ERISA group plans I use for healthy self-employed people over the subsidy line: group rates, a true PPO network, and a policy you own.
Thirty minutes on the phone or Zoom, no fee, no hard sell. Bring your renewal letter, a rough income number, your doctors, and how you use care. I put every Colorado door that fits you side by side, including the ones with no enrollment window, before you lock anything in for 2027. I educate, you decide.
Grab a time right here
Pick a slot below and it lands on both our calendars. Phone or Zoom, plan documents on the screen, real numbers side by side. I educate, you decide.
Who you'll be talking to: me, Richard "Dick" Tracy. Real name, real job.
Health insurance broker · NPN 20414610 · Licensed in 25 states · 80+ carriers · Buffalo, NY
No call center, and no lead form that sells your name to ten agencies. The person who answers 716-503-1113 is the same person in this photo. I educate, you decide.
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