Delaware health insurance questions, answered.
Answers from licensed agents about buying your own coverage in Delaware, organized by topic.
Getting started
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No. Delaware residents apply and enroll through HealthCare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. The state still reviews the plans and rates that insurers sell there.
Open enrollment runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. To have coverage start January 1, choose a plan and pay your first premium by December 15. After January 15, you need a qualifying life event to enroll.
KFF reports that the 2026 benchmark Silver plan for a 40-year-old averaged about $691 a month in Delaware before subsidies. Your price depends on your age, location, plan and household income.
Leaving a job
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Often yes. Delaware's mini-COBRA law lets you continue an insured group plan for up to 9 months if the employer had 1 to 19 workers and you were covered for the 3 months before coverage ended. You pay the full premium, up to 102% of the group rate.
It can be, especially if your income drops and you qualify for a premium tax credit. COBRA and state continuation charge the full group premium with no subsidy. Losing job coverage gives you a special enrollment period, so you can compare both before deciding.
If your household income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, you may qualify, even without children. Medicaid enrollment is open all year, and you can apply through Delaware ASSIST or HealthCare.gov.
Early retirement
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Only if your household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, now that the enhanced credits have ended. Above that, you pay full price, which is high for older buyers in Delaware. Planning how much income you report can make a large difference.
Yes. The state approved average increases of about 17.2% for Highmark and about 13.9% for AmeriHealth Caritas for 2027, before subsidies. Those increases came on top of an average of about 27.7% for 2026.
Delaware's mini-COBRA lasts up to 9 months and ends if you become eligible for Medicare. If you need longer coverage before 65, you will likely move to a Marketplace plan at some point.
Self-employed
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No. Delaware does not have its own coverage mandate, and the federal penalty has been zero since 2019. You can still only buy a Marketplace plan during open enrollment or a special enrollment period.
No. The main help is the federal premium tax credit, based on your estimated household income. Silver plans can also lower deductibles and copays if your income is at or below 250% of the poverty level.
For 2026 there are three: Highmark, AmeriHealth Caritas and Ambetter. For 2027 there will be two, because Ambetter is leaving the Marketplace at the end of 2026.
Short-term plans
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No more than 3 months total. The policy cannot be renewed, plans cannot be stacked back to back, and an insurer cannot sell you another short-term policy more than once in a year.
No. In 2025 federal regulators said they would stop prioritizing enforcement of the 4-month federal cap, but Delaware's own 3-month limit still applies to plans sold here.
Usually not. Short-term plans are not ACA coverage and can exclude or deny for health history. A Marketplace plan must cover pre-existing conditions.
Non-ACA options
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No. Sharing ministries are not insurance and do not have to cover pre-existing conditions or pay any particular bill. Delaware's insurance protections, such as caps on insulin costs, apply to state-regulated insurance plans.
Insurers
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Ambetter Health of Delaware ends its Marketplace plans on December 31, 2026. Pick a new plan during open enrollment, and do it by December 15, 2026 so your new coverage starts January 1.
No. Aetna left the Delaware Marketplace at the end of 2025, as part of its exit from the individual market nationwide.
State regulators tie recent increases to federal changes, including the end of the enhanced tax credits, and note that Delaware health care costs are among the highest in the country. The state runs a reinsurance program, approved through 2029, that is meant to hold down full-price premiums.
Sources
Reviewed October 2026. Rules and prices change every year; a licensed agent will confirm what applies to you.
- Delaware Health Insurance Marketplace: 2026 ACA Coverage Guide (healthinsurance.org)
- CMS: State-based Exchanges
- Delaware News: Marketplace health insurance rates for 2026 (August 22, 2025)
- Delaware News: Delaware Announces 2027 Marketplace Health Insurance Rates (September 4, 2026)
- Delaware DHSS: Open enrollment on Delaware's Health Insurance Marketplace underway
- HealthCare.gov: Dates and deadlines
- KFF: Average Marketplace Premiums by Metal Tier, 2026
- Medicaid eligibility and enrollment in Delaware (healthinsurance.org)
- Delaware Code Title 18, Chapter 35, Subchapter III (includes ยง 3571F Mini-COBRA)
- 18 DE Admin. Code 1320: Short-Term, Limited Duration Health Insurance
- Short-term health insurance in Delaware (healthinsurance.org)
- CMS: Delaware Section 1332 waiver extension approval letter (reinsurance, 2025 to 2029)
- Ambetter Health of Delaware: Discontinue Marketplace coverage effective December 31, 2026
- Georgetown CHIR: What do you know about health care sharing ministries?
See what you'd actually pay.
A licensed agent will compare plans from every insurer in your Delaware county, check your subsidy, and walk you through the options. No cost, no obligation.