• November 1, 2015: Open Enrollment starts — first day you can enroll in a 2016 Marketplace plan
• January 1, 2016: First date 2016 coverage can start
• January 31, 2016: 2016 Open Enrollment ends

If you don’t enroll in a 2016 plan by January 31, 2016, you can’t enroll in a health insurance plan for 2016 unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

Medicaid, CHIP, and SHOP – apply any time

• There’s no limited enrollment period for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). You can apply any time.
• There’s also no limited enrollment period for small businesses to enroll in SHOP coverage for their employees. You can apply any time.

The fee if you don’t have coverage in 2016

If you don’t have coverage in 2016, you may have to pay a fee. The fee is higher in 2016 than it was in 2015. Learn about the fee for not having health coverage in 2016.