What the 2027 ACA Changes Mean for Self-Employed Floridians

Ryan Michalek, Licensed Health & Life Insurance Agent, NPN 21043091. Last updated November 8, 2026 · Read my Google reviews

Sources: CMS and HealthCare.gov for the dates, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation for the rate, KFF (October 30, 2026) for the tax credits and the catastrophic pause, and the 2026 federal poverty guidelines for the subsidy line. If you work for yourself here, my guide to Florida self-employed and 1099 health insurance walks through your options.

Over the subsidy line in Florida for 2027? I'll compare full-price marketplace coverage with a private under-65 plan for your household. Opening a 2027 renewal that jumped? See how big your 2027 renewal increase is in about 20 seconds. Before you auto-renew it, let's put that number next to a private under-65 option on your real numbers. You can book a 15-minute call or send the short form and I'll reach out.

I answer my own phone, evenings and weekends.

The headline change: the enhanced subsidies lapsed

From 2021 through 2025, temporarily boosted premium tax credits made ACA marketplace plans (the coverage most people still call Obamacare) a lot less expensive, and extended some subsidy help to middle-income households that never qualified before. Those enhanced credits expired at the end of 2025. Congress has debated extending the enhanced credits (the House passed a three-year extension that hasn't become law), so for the 2026 and 2027 plan years the subsidy math has reverted toward the older, less generous rules. One more change worth knowing: if you received an advance subsidy for 2026, the cap on paying back any excess at tax time is gone, so a raise or a bigger year can mean a larger bill when you file in early 2027. What the repayment change means for you

Premiums are climbing again for 2027. Nationally, the average benchmark silver marketplace premium is up 13% for 2027 (KFF, October 30, 2026), and Florida regulators approved an average 10.4% increase for 2027 individual plans, with final 2027 plans and prices available to compare on HealthCare.gov now that open enrollment is open. And if you leaned hardest on the extra subsidy help, you're likely to feel it the most now that it's gone: for people who had been getting the enhanced credits, KFF projected that average premium payments would more than double once those credits expired. That means a lot of self-employed Floridians who counted on those credits are opening 2027 quotes that look very different from last year's. If that's your renewal letter, here's what to do when your health insurance premium goes up.

This is still moving, since lawmakers could pass an extension and change the math again, so I track where it stands and can tell you the current rules the day you shop, so you're not guessing from a headline.

Florida 2027 full prices, city by city

The 10.4% statewide figure is an average across all individual plans. What a Florida household pays at full price for the benchmark silver plan, with no subsidy, looks like this for 2027 (public marketplace quotes, non-smoker, checked October 31, 2026):

Benchmark silver = the second-lowest-cost silver marketplace plan in the county. Lake City runs about 16% above Tampa for the same 60-year-old. In Tampa the lowest-cost gold plan came in about $107 a month under benchmark silver for a 60-year-old with no subsidy, because of silver loading. Source: MHS 2027 price checks; full table in what private health insurance costs by state. Prices checked October 31, 2026; confirm your own quote before you enroll.

What the subsidy line means in Florida dollars. Take one 60-year-old in Tampa. At $63,000 of income, just under the $63,840 line, the 2027 rules expect about 10.22% of income toward the benchmark plan, about $537 a month, and the tax credit covers the rest of the $1,461 price, roughly $924 a month. At $64,500 there is no credit, and the price is the full $1,461. So about $1,500 more income means roughly $11,000 a year less help. That is the 2027 subsidy cliff, worked with IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 and the 2026 poverty guidelines (checked November 8, 2026). It's an illustration, not a quote; your credit depends on your county's benchmark and your final income, and how income lands on your return is a question for your CPA.

What changed for 2027 in Florida, and what didn’t: the enrollment window

Florida uses the federal marketplace at HealthCare.gov, so there's no separate state exchange. Open enrollment for 2027 coverage is open now: it opened November 1, 2026, and on HealthCare.gov the 2027 window closes January 15, 2027. Enroll by December 15 for a January 1 start, and don't wait for the last day. The window itself didn't change; the prices and subsidies did. For every date and deadline, see the guide to open enrollment 2027 in Florida.

• Nov 1, 2026 — Open Enrollment opens for 2027 plans
• Dec 15, 2026 — deadline for a January 1 start
• Jan 1, 2027 — new coverage begins

Missed the window? Special Enrollment Periods

Outside Open Enrollment you can still enroll if you have a qualifying life event, and you usually get 60 days from the event to choose a plan. The triggers that come up most for self-employed and between-jobs Floridians:

• Losing other coverage: a job, a spouse's plan, or COBRA running out
• Moving to Florida or to a new area within the state
• Getting married, or losing coverage through a divorce
• Having or adopting a baby

Private under-65 plans often add flexibility here: many can be applied for year-round, which matters if you miss the marketplace window and don't have a qualifying event. If you're not sure whether a life event qualifies you, it's a two-minute question, so let's check.

Other 2027 rule changes that reach Florida households

Each of these was checked November 8, 2026 against the source in parentheses.

• Who can get a tax credit, by immigration status. Starting January 1, 2027, the premium tax credit goes only to U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and COFA migrants. Refugees, asylees, most visa holders and people with Temporary Protected Status can still buy a marketplace plan but at full price (HealthCare.gov; CMS guidance, October 2026). For a lot of Florida families that line matters more than the rate change. If that's your household, start with coverage options for people new to the U.S.
• The low-income monthly enrollment window is gone. The special enrollment period for households under 150% of the poverty level can't be offered after 2026 (CMS, 2027 Payment Notice), so Open Enrollment is the window.
• A higher out-of-pocket ceiling. The federal maximum for in-network costs is $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family in 2027, up from $10,600 and $21,200 (CMS, January 29, 2026).
• Bronze and catastrophic plans and HSAs. Since 2026, bronze and catastrophic plans available through the marketplace count as HSA-eligible (IRS Notice 2026-5). How much to put in is a question for your CPA.
• Not yet: income checks before enrollment. Pre-enrollment income verification and the end of free automatic re-enrollment begin with 2028 coverage, not 2027 (Treasury proposed regulations; CMS).
• Storm season. If a FEMA-declared disaster kept you from enrolling in a window you were eligible for, a special enrollment window may apply; special enrollment in Florida covers the disaster rule and its deadline.
• Searching for 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Florida? That's a separate program with its own calendar: Medicare's Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7 (Medicare.gov). This page and my work cover people under 65; Medicare.gov's plan finder is the official place to compare Medicare plans.

Marketplace vs. a private under-65 plan in 2027

With subsidies smaller for 2027, the marketplace makes the most sense mainly if you still qualify for meaningful premium tax credits. If you earn above the subsidy line, or you're healthy enough to qualify for a medically underwritten plan, a private under-65 option can offer broader PPO-style networks and is worth pricing against an unsubsidized marketplace plan, and I'll tell you plainly which side fits. The same side-by-side matters most if you're retiring before 65 and bridging to Medicare.

The answer depends on your income, your health, the doctors you want to keep, and your budget, which is the whole reason to compare both sides before you renew, not after. There's no fee for that part, and the coverage cost estimator is a quick way to see where your 2027 numbers land before you do.

Since the enhanced subsidies lapsed, I've had more people open a 2027 renewal that jumped and assume they're just stuck with it, and usually they're not. We put the new marketplace number next to a private under-65 option side by side, and for folks above the subsidy line the private plan is often worth a hard look on both premium and network. Sometimes the marketplace still wins, and I'll say so plainly. What I don't want is for you to auto-renew a big jump without looking at the other side first.

• Run your (now-reduced) subsidy so you know your real marketplace number
• Compare it against private under-65 plans, side by side
• Weigh premium, deductible, and network, not just the monthly price
• Then you choose on the facts: I handle the paperwork on a private plan myself, and if a marketplace plan fits better, I'll connect you with my partner for that enrollment