Illinois extends open enrollment deadline for health care plans

Illinois residents who buy health insurance on the state-run marketplace now have a little more time to sign up for coverage for the upcoming year.

Officials at Get Covered Illinois announced last week they have extended the open enrollment deadline to Dec. 31 for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2026.

Consumers also have until Jan. 15 to sign up for coverage that takes effect Feb. 1.

Officials said the extension is intended to give people more time to receive help choosing a plan for the upcoming year as changes in federal policy are about to take effect.

Free enrollment support is available from the Get Covered Illinois customer assistance center or by calling (866) 311-1119 (TTY 711).

Many consumers can expect to see significant increases in the cost of their plans as enhanced federal subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year. Those enhanced subsidies were enacted in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress so far has not been able to agree on a plan to extend them beyond the end of this year.

This year marks the first open enrollment period in which Get Covered Illinois is operating as a state-based marketplace independent of the federally run HealthCare.gov.

"Shifting to a state-based marketplace has given Illinois the authority and flexibility to make decisions that put our residents first," Get Covered Illinois Director Morgan Winters said in a statement.

"This enrollment deadline extension is exactly the kind of customer-focused action that we could not take as a federally facilitated marketplace." Costs will also increase next year for people insured by Medicare, the federal healthcareprogramforpeopleoverage65.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in November that Part B premiums will go up 9.7% next year, to $202.90 per month, while the standard deductible for Part B coverage will go up 10.1%, to $283.

Medicare Part B is optional coverage that pays for outpatient services such as office visits, X-rays and preventive treatment.

The standard deductible for inpatient hospital treatment under Medicare Part A will go up 3.6% next year, to 1,736 per benefit period.