Utah Health Insurance Marketplace Guide

Most people in Utah can buy health insurance through the exchange. Marketplace health coverage is available if you meet the following criteria:⁵

• You must be a resident of Utah.
• You must be lawfully present in the U.S.
• You can’t be incarcerated.
• You must not be enrolled in Medicare.

Whether or not you qualify for financial assistance with your premium, deductible, or out-of-pocket costs depends on your income and how it compares with the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area. 

Additionally, to qualify for financial assistance, you must: 

• Not have access to affordable health coverage through an employer. If you think your employer-sponsored health plan is too expensive, use our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator to check if you qualify for premium subsidies in the Marketplace. 
• Not be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP in Utah, or for premium-free Medicare Part A.⁶ 
• If married, file a joint tax return.⁷
• Not be able to be claimed by someone else as a tax dependent.⁷

The open enrollment period to sign up for 2027 ACA-compliant individual and family health plans in Utah is expected to run from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027.

HHS finalized a rule change in 2025 that would have shortened this enrollment window, ending it in mid-December. A judge struck down that rule change in June 2026, but HHS appealed the judge’s ruling in July 2026.⁸ So as of early August 2026, the specifics of the upcoming open enrollment schedule were still uncertain, pending the outcome of the appeal.

But consumers should plan to enroll by December 15, regardless of the outcome of the legal challenge. Even if open enrollment continues until January 15, the final day to pick a plan with a January 1 effective date (and thus have full-year coverage for 2027) will be December 15, 2026.

Outside of open enrollment, you can only sign up for coverage (through the Utah exchange or directly through an insurance company) if you have a special enrollment period (SEP). In most cases, this means you need to have a qualifying life event. But American Indians and Alaska Natives can enroll at any time.

You have a few ways to enroll in a Marketplace health plan in Utah:

• Online: Go to HealthCare.gov. This is the federal Marketplace website that also lets you shop around for plans. You can also enroll in a Utah Marketplace plan via an EDE entity approved to offer coverage in Utah.⁹
  
• By Phone: Call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325) to talk to a representative over the phone. The call center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except holidays.
  
• In-person: Get help from a licensed insurance agent, navigator, or certified application counselor in your area. Look for assistance at localhelp.HealthCare.gov. Call 2-1-1 or visit takecareutah.org.

No matter which of the above methods you use, you’ll still purchase your health plan through HealthCare.gov (or an approved EDE) since Utah uses the federally-facilitated Marketplace. The website will walk you through the application process and determine your eligibility for financial assistance.

People in Utah who enroll in a Marketplace plan (accessed at HealthCare.gov) can be eligible for two different types of financial assistance, depending on their household income:

• Premium tax credits (premium subsidies): If you sign up on HealthCare.gov, you may qualify for financial assistance called Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) to lower your monthly premiums. Of the people who enrolled through the Utah Marketplace during the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, nearly 90% qualified for APTC. The average APTC amount was $499/month. For subsidy-eligible enrollees, this reduced the average net premium to just $68/month.¹⁰
• Cost-sharing reductions (CSR): If your household income is no more than 250% of the federal poverty level, you can also receive cost-sharing reductions (CSR) assistance, as long as you select a Silver-level plan. CSRs reduce your deductible and out-of-pocket expenses, which means you can get the care you need at an affordable cost. During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, nearly 44% of Utah Marketplace enrollees selected a plan that included CSR benefits.¹⁰

Source: CMS.gov¹⁰

Medicaid: Check if you’re eligible for Medicaid by going online to HealthCare.gov or through medicaid.utah.gov.¹¹

For 2026, six insurers offer Marketplace coverage in Utah, with varying coverage areas,² and all of them will continue to offer Marketplace plans in 2027:¹²

• BridgeSpan Health Company
• Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah
• SelectHealth
• University of Utah Health Plans
• Imperial Health Plan of the Southwest
• Molina Healthcare of Utah

This is down from seven in 2025,¹³ as Aetna exited the individual market (nationwide) at the end of 2025. In addition, Molina exited most of the counties where it offered coverage in Utah in 2025, and only offers coverage in two southwest Utah counties as of 2026.¹⁴

The following average rate changes have been proposed by Utah’s Marketplace insurers for 2027, amounting to a weighted average rate increase of about 6.8% (calculated before subsidies are applied).¹⁵

Source: Federal Rate Review Database¹⁶ 

Although the weighted average proposed premium increase is about 6.8% for 2026,¹⁵ this could change by the time the state completes its review.

And it’s important to understand that these premium changes only apply to full-price premiums. Most enrollees qualify for premium subsidies, and thus don’t pay full price. But because Congress didn’t extend the federal subsidy enhancements that expired at the end of 2025, Marketplace coverage is less affordable than it had been from 2021 through 2025. This will continue to be the case in 2027, although enrollees will not see the sort of sticker shock that they experienced for 2026. 

For perspective, here’s how average full-price premiums have changed in Utah’s individual/family market in previous years:

• 2015: Average increase of 5%¹⁷
• 2016: Average increase of 25%¹⁸
• 2017: Average increase of 31.7%¹⁹
• 2018: Average increase of 39.5%²⁰
• 2019: Average increase of 0.5%²¹
• 2020: Average decrease of 2.3%%²²
• 2021: Average rate changes ranged from -7% to +3%²³
• 2022: Average increase of 1%²⁴
• 2023: Average increase of 6%²⁵
• 2024: Average increase of 11.4%²⁶
• 2025: Average increase of 10.4%²⁷
• 2026: Average increase of 14.2%²⁸

During the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage, 387,336 people enrolled in private plans through Utah’s health insurance Marketplace.¹⁰

This was a decline from the record high enrollment in 2025, but it was still higher than any year other than 2025. The graph below shows enrollment over time in Utah’s exchange. The sharp increase in enrollment in recent years was driven in large part by the subsidy enhancements under the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, which made Marketplace plans more affordable. The enrollment increases for 2024 and 2025 were also partially driven by Medicaid disenrollments, which resumed in 2023. Some people who are no longer eligible for Medicaid have obtained coverage in the Marketplace instead.

Source: 2014,²⁹ 2015,³⁰ 2016,³¹ 2017,³² 2018,³³ 2019,³⁴ 2020,³⁵ 2021,³⁶ 2022,³⁷ 2023,³⁸ 2024,³⁹ 2025⁴⁰ 2026¹⁰

HealthCare.gov
The official federal website where you can sign up for health insurance plans through the ACA Marketplace. 

Utah Insurance Department
Oversees and licenses health insurance companies, brokers, and agents, offering information and help for various health insurance concerns. 

Utah Health Insurance Transparency; Latest Rate Changes
Shows rate and plan filings that insurers have submitted for review by state regulators.

Utah Senior Services
Supports Medicare beneficiaries by providing assistance, information, and valuable resources.

Take Care Utah
An initiative aimed at helping Utah residents understand and access health insurance options, including the ACA Marketplace and Medicaid.