The 2027 Marketplace runs on a court-modified rule: what was stayed, and what still applies

Open enrollment for 2027 Marketplace coverage opens November 1, 2026. If you have been reading about the 2027 plan year, you have probably seen one particular change described approvingly: an expansion that would let people who earn too much — or too little — for a subsidy buy a low-premium Catastrophic plan. That change is the one to be careful about. A federal court blocked it in July, and it is not in effect for 2027.

What follows is the accurate version: which parts of the 2027 payment rule survived the litigation, which were stayed, and what to check before you shop.

What happened, in one paragraph

The 2027 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters — the annual rule that sets how the Marketplaces work — was proposed on February 11, 2026, drew more than 5,000 comments, and was finalized on May 20, 2026. A group of cities, physicians and small businesses sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland the following month (City of Columbus et al. v. Kennedy, No. 1:26-cv-02215). On July 16, 2026, Judge Brendan Hurson stayed eight of the rule’s provisions nationwide — most of them a little over a week before they were set to take effect on July 20. CMS then told the Marketplaces and insurers, in statements dated July 31 and August 4, 2026, that those provisions “will not go into effect as finalized.”

That is the operative sentence for this fall. The rule’s text still exists; parts of it are not being applied.

The change most covered, and least in effect

The provision that drew the most attention would have let you qualify for a Catastrophic plan through a hardship exemption based on income alone — if you were ineligible for a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction because your projected household income fell below 100% or above 250% of the federal poverty level.

The court stayed it. Its reasoning, as reported by Health Affairs and Bloomberg Government: a “hardship” cannot be defined by income alone, so the provision was likely contrary to law. Eight provisions were stayed in total, including higher out-of-pocket limits for Bronze plans, two income-verification requirements, special-enrollment-period verification, changes to network-adequacy standards, and the elimination of standardized plans.

The practical effect is that the pre-September 2025 eligibility rules for Catastrophic plans are back in force. You generally qualify in one of two ways:

• You are under 30, or
• You hold a hardship exemption or an affordability exemption certificate.

The exemption that was not stayed

This is where the accurate version differs from the reassuring one, and it is the part worth understanding because it is a real path for some people.

The affordability exemption is a separate mechanism, and it was not part of the stay. It applies when the lowest-cost plan available to you would cost more than a set share of your household income. For 2027 that share is 10.22%, set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-26 — the first time the figure has crossed 10%, up from 9.96% for 2026.

If your premium would exceed that share of your income, you can request the exemption, and if it is granted you may buy a Catastrophic plan. Three cautions:

1. It is not automatic and not the same as the income route. You apply, and you receive a determination. Earning above 400% of the poverty line does not by itself qualify you the way the stayed provision would have.
2. It is generally requested before January 1 if you want it to cover the full calendar year.
3. It varies by state, because some states run their own exchanges and add their own rules and subsidies.

If you are already in a Catastrophic plan

One detail is easy to miss. During the 2026 enrollment season, 67,489 people enrolled in Catastrophic plans nationwide — about 0.3% of Marketplace enrollees — and more than 20,000 of them qualified only through the now-stayed income route. The court did not order those enrollees out of their plans; it observed that they could be re-enrolled through a special enrollment period.

If you are one of those enrollees, do not assume the plan carries into 2027 on the same terms. Check your Marketplace account and any notice you receive, and re-shop by December 15 if you want coverage to start January 1. Our guide The ACA Subsidy Cliff Is Back walks through the income math that decides most of these cases.

What definitely does apply for 2027

Stripping out the stayed provisions, the calendar and the core numbers are unchanged, and these are the ones to plan around:

Item	For 2027 coverage
Open enrollment	November 1, 2026 – January 15, 2027
Enroll by (for a January 1 start)	December 15, 2026
Subsidy cliff	Restored at 400% of the federal poverty level
2027 out-of-pocket maximum	$12,000 self-only / $24,000 other than self-only
Required contribution percentage	10.22% (Rev. Proc. 2026-26)
Standardized plans	Still required (the plan to eliminate them was stayed)

The enhanced-premium-credit expiration and the restored cliff are the changes that move most households’ numbers this year, and they are covered in The ACA Subsidy Cliff Is Back and The ACA Marketplace: Open Enrollment, Subsidies and Special Enrollment Periods. The stayed provisions are the ones that would have changed who qualifies for what — and for 2027, they have not.

What to do before November 1

1. Do not count on the Catastrophic income route. It is stayed. If a broker or a website tells you that your income alone qualifies you for a Catastrophic plan this fall, that is describing a rule that is not being applied.
2. Check whether the affordability exemption applies to you, using the 10.22% figure and the actual lowest-cost plan in your area. Request it through your Marketplace if it does.
3. If you are already in a Catastrophic plan, verify your 2027 status directly rather than assuming renewal.
4. Treat any estimate as provisional until the litigation resolves. The administration is expected to appeal, and the district court’s stay is not the last word. The authoritative source is HealthCare.gov and the CMS guidance page, not a summary.
5. Watch the clock. The open enrollment deadline is fixed even while the rules are in court.

Bottom line

The widely repeated line that 2027 “opens Catastrophic plans to more people” describes a provision a federal court stayed in July. What survives is the older, narrower eligibility — under 30, or a hardship or affordability exemption — alongside the restored subsidy cliff and the ordinary open-enrollment calendar. Shop on the rules that are in force, not the ones that were announced, and confirm anything that decides your coverage against HealthCare.gov or the CMS guidance itself.

This article explains federal health-insurance rules in general terms; it is not personal advice about your coverage or taxes. The rules here are federal and apply nationwide, but state-run exchanges can differ — check your state exchange where one operates.