To cancel Healthcare.gov insurance, log into your Marketplace account, open your application, and choose “My plans & programs” to end coverage, or call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. Give at least 14 days’ notice before the date you want coverage to stop, and never rely on skipping premium payments to end the plan for you.
Cancel Online Through Your Marketplace Account
Log into your account at Healthcare.gov and open your existing application. In the left-side menu, select “My plans & programs.”1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Terminating a Marketplace Plan The system walks you through ending coverage for everyone on the plan and asks you to pick your end date. If you’re moving to new coverage and want no gap, set the end date to the day before the new plan begins.
You’ll be asked to confirm your reason for canceling. That step flags situations that could cost you premium tax credits or trigger other consequences. Once you submit, a confirmation screen displays your final coverage date. Save it or take a screenshot. Fix any mistake right then, because the coverage end date the Marketplace assigns is generally not something you can appeal later.2HealthCare.gov. What Can I Appeal?
Cancel by Phone
Call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except holidays.3HealthCare.gov. Contact Us Have your full name, date of birth, and Marketplace application ID ready. A representative can process the cancellation in real time and adjust the end date so it lines up with new coverage.4HHS. Cancelling or Terminating Consumer Marketplace Coverage You need to call rather than use the site if the subscriber (the person the plan is under) is the one being removed and other household members are staying enrolled.5Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ending Marketplace Coverage for Some Household Members on the Plan
The 14-Day Notice Rule and How End Dates Are Set
You can cancel a Marketplace plan at any time and for any reason.1Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Terminating a Marketplace Plan If you’re ending coverage for everyone on the application, you can pick your own end date, as long as you give at least 14 days’ notice before that date.6eCFR. 45 CFR 155.430 – Termination of Exchange Enrollment or Coverage Miss that window and coverage will not end until 14 days after you submit the request, no matter what date you asked for.
That timing matters most when you’re coordinating with a new employer plan, Medicaid, or Medicare. Submit the cancellation early enough that the 14-day rule can’t push your end date past the day your new coverage begins.
Removing Only Some Household Members
If you’re keeping your own coverage and only dropping a spouse or child, you report a life change rather than canceling the plan. In your account, choose “Report a life change,” update the “Who Needs Coverage” question so only the people staying are listed, and select “Remove” for each person coming off.5Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ending Marketplace Coverage for Some Household Members on the Plan
Timing works differently here. If you remove someone by the 15th of the month, their coverage ends on the last day of that same month. If you remove them after the 15th, their coverage runs through the last day of the following month.5Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Ending Marketplace Coverage for Some Household Members on the Plan
If You’re Switching to Medicare
Your Marketplace plan does not end automatically when Medicare starts. You have to log in and update your application with your Medicare start date, or the Marketplace plan continues and you keep getting billed.7HealthCare.gov. Changing from Marketplace to Medicare
Ignoring that step is expensive. If you keep receiving advance premium tax credits after Medicare begins, you must repay every dollar of those credits at tax time.7HealthCare.gov. Changing from Marketplace to Medicare Starting in 2026 there is no cap on how much you repay, so the full excess amount lands on your tax bill.8IRS. Updates to Questions and Answers About the Premium Tax Credit
You can report a future Medicare start date up to three months in advance. In a single-person household, set the Marketplace plan to end the day before Medicare begins; if Medicare starts June 1, end the Marketplace plan on May 31. When other household members are staying enrolled, the timing shifts depending on how far ahead you report, so use the Call Center if you’re unsure.9Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. When to Terminate Coverage for Consumers Transitioning from Marketplace to Medicare Coverage
Do Not Just Stop Paying Premiums
Skipping payments is one of the worst ways to end a plan. If you receive advance premium tax credits, federal rules give you a three-month grace period before the insurer can terminate you.6eCFR. 45 CFR 155.430 – Termination of Exchange Enrollment or Coverage Your insurer generally still pays claims in month one, then may hold or deny claims in months two and three while waiting for payment.
If you never pay the missed premium, coverage gets terminated retroactively to the last day of the first grace-period month. Any care you received in months two and three becomes your bill. On top of that, losing coverage for non-payment is not a qualifying life event, so you’ll likely have to wait until the next Open Enrollment to get another Marketplace plan.10HealthCare.gov. Premium Payments, Grace Periods, and Losing Coverage Without advance premium tax credits, the grace period may be shorter depending on your state.
Confirm the Cancellation Went Through
The Marketplace sends a confirmation notice by email or mail that lists your final coverage date. If nothing arrives within about two weeks, call 1-800-318-2596 to follow up.3HealthCare.gov. Contact Us Silence is not confirmation.
Watch your bank or card statements for at least two billing cycles after you cancel. Insurers sometimes pull a premium if the cancellation lands close to the billing cutoff. If a charge posts for a period after your coverage ended, contact the insurance company and the Marketplace to request a refund. Whether you get a prorated refund for a partial month depends on your insurer and state rules.
Avoiding a Coverage Gap
Before you set an end date, confirm the start date of your next coverage. If you’re joining an employer plan, ask the benefits department for the exact effective date. Employer plans, Medicaid, and off-Marketplace policies each have their own start dates, and even a one-day gap can leave you exposed if something happens.
If you’re leaving a job, COBRA lets you temporarily continue your former employer’s group plan. You get at least 60 days from the date you receive the election notice to decide.11U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers COBRA tends to cost more because you pay the full premium with no employer contribution, so compare it to Marketplace plans before choosing. Having COBRA available does not disqualify you from Marketplace coverage or from premium tax credits.12HealthCare.gov. COBRA Coverage When You’re Unemployed
If you plan to go uninsured, remember that outside of a qualifying life event you generally cannot enroll in a new Marketplace plan until the next Open Enrollment Period. For the 2026 plan year, Open Enrollment runs from November 1 through January 15. Marriage, a move, and loss of other coverage are examples of qualifying events that reopen enrollment mid-year.
Tax Reconciliation After Canceling
If you received advance premium tax credits for any part of the year, you’ll get Form 1095-A by mid-February of the following year. Don’t file your return without it. You’ll use it to complete Form 8962, which reconciles the credits paid on your behalf against what your final annual income actually qualified you for.13HealthCare.gov. How to Use Form 1095-A
Two 2026 changes make that reconciliation riskier. The expanded credits that eliminated the 400% federal poverty level income cap expired after 2025, so for the 2026 plan year households above 400% of the poverty line generally no longer qualify for credits.14IRS. Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit And the repayment caps that used to limit how much excess credit you had to pay back are gone; if your advance credits exceed what you qualify for, you owe the full difference.8IRS. Updates to Questions and Answers About the Premium Tax Credit
The practical takeaway: if you’re canceling because your income rose past the subsidy threshold, update the Marketplace application as soon as the change happens so the credits stop flowing. The longer they run, the bigger the repayment at tax time. And if you paid full price with no credits, still complete Form 8962 anyway. You might qualify for a credit based on your final income that you never claimed during the year.13HealthCare.gov. How to Use Form 1095-A