About the federal changes

President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4, 2025. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also issued the Final Rule on Marketplace Integrity and Affordability on June 25, 2025. And some of the additional subsidies (or tax credits) available to customers over the past several years expired on December 31, 2025.

The combination of these federal changes means it may be more challenging to enroll in coverage, verify information to keep coverage and qualify for financial help. Access Health CT estimates that the total impact of these federal changes will result in 30-35% of the currently enrolled population being uninsured by 2034.

And there are even more significant changes to Medicaid. Click here to learn more about changes to Medicaid — HUSKY Health and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — from the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

State Financial Help

In response to the expiring federal tax credits, Governor Lamont announced the State of Connecticut will provide additional financial help to replace the expired enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) for eligible Connecticut residents.

Households with an annual income between 100% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), who are not already enrolled in the Covered CT Program, will receive a state subsidy to replace 100% of the expired ePTCs.

Households with an annual income over 400% and up to 500% of the FPL will receive a state subsidy to replace 50% of the expired enhanced Premium Tax Credits.

The state subsidies are currently in place for one year (2026). Learn more about the subsidies.

Changes Starting Plan Year 2025

• Customers will have a shorter time period to verify their household income after they enroll. Previously, customers had 150 days to verify their income and now they will have only 90 days to complete this verification.
• Customers will now be asked to verify their household income if tax data is unavailable and AHCT will let them know if they need to submit documents to verify this information.
• Customers may be asked to pay past-due premiums to their insurance carrier to start their coverage for a new year.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients are no longer eligible for coverage through AHCT. Coverage through AHCT for DACA recipients ended September 30, 2025.

Changes Starting Plan Year 2026

• There will be less financial help available with the expiration of the enhanced Premium Tax Credits first available through the American Rescue Plan Act and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act. These subsidies offered more financial help but expired on December 31, 2025. Some federal financial help is still available for those who qualify, and the State of Connecticut is offering additional financial help for eligible residents. Connecticut residents who are lawfully present immigrants in the 5-year bar period for Medicaid eligibility, with annual income below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, will no longer be eligible for financial help through AHCT.
• Customers with lower income (less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level) will no longer qualify for a Special Enrollment Period based solely on income and must enroll during the Open Enrollment Period from November 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026, or through a Special Enrollment Period if they experience a Qualifying Life Event.
• Customers may not be eligible for financial help in a new year if they did not file their federal income tax return for the previous year with the required information on the amount of financial help they received in that year.
• If a customer’s actual income is more than they estimated in their application and they received higher Premium Tax Credit amounts than they were eligible to receive during the year, they will be required to pay back some or all of the Premium Tax Credit amounts.

Changes Starting Plan Years 2027 and 2028

• The Open Enrollment Period will be shorter for plan year 2027. Customers who want to enroll in health insurance through Access Health CT will have less time to enroll for plans starting January 1, 2027. (This change does NOT impact Open Enrollment for 2026. The Open Enrollment Period for plan year 2026 started November 1, 2025, and ends January 31, 2026. Customers who enroll by January 31, 2026 will have a plan starting February 1, 2026.)
• Financial help for non-citizens will be limited starting in 2027. Eligible residents will include lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), certain Cuban and Haitian entrants as defined under section 501(e) of the Refugee 12 Education Assistance Act of 1980, and people in the U.S. under a Compact of Free Associations. All other lawfully present non-citizens would be permitted to enroll in coverage but prohibited from receiving financial assistance.
• Automatic re-enrollment will be prohibited starting in 2028. Customers who previously opted to be re-enrolled in the same, or a similar plan, will no longer be able to renew their coverage and financial help without taking action. They will need to verify information, such as their income, immigration status, address, family size or any other household information that HHS requires before enrolling in coverage with financial help.
• Financial help will not be available to purchase a health plan through AHCT for anyone who is not eligible for Medicaid because they did not meet the work requirements.