Maine health insurance questions, answered.

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Signing up on the last day means a later start date, so enroll earlier if you want coverage on January 1. Outside that window you need a qualifying life event such as losing other coverage.

Yes. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on December 31, 2025. For 2026, about 74% of Maine Marketplace enrollees got a tax credit, down from 85% in 2025, and households above 400% of the poverty level no longer qualify.

Maine does not add a state premium subsidy to the federal tax credit. Instead, it runs a reinsurance program, the Maine Guaranteed Access Reinsurance Association, that pays part of high claims and helps keep full-price premiums lower across the merged individual and small-group market.

The Bureau of Insurance approved an average 23.9% increase for the individual market in 2026. For 2027, approved increases for the remaining Marketplace insurers average 14.8% before subsidies. What you pay depends on your age, location, plan and tax credit.

It depends on your income. With the enhanced credits gone, you get a tax credit only if your household income is at or below 400% of the poverty level. Above that, you pay full price, which for a 60-year-old in Portland can exceed $1,000 a month for the lowest-cost plan.

If your countable income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, MaineCare can cover you until Medicare starts. Many early retirees have income above that, so a Marketplace plan is the more common bridge.

Usually not. Maine continuation lasts up to one year from your last day of work and only applies in certain situations. Federal COBRA, where it applies, typically lasts 18 months, so most early retirees eventually need a Marketplace plan.

In practice, no. Maine law allows them only with strict limits, and according to the state insurance bureau no insurers are currently marketing them. Marketplace plans, continuation coverage or MaineCare are the realistic options.

In August 2025, federal agencies said they would no longer prioritize enforcing the 2024 four-month limit. Maine's own law still applies: plans must end by December 31 of the year issued, cannot be renewed and must be sold in person.

If you lost other coverage, a special enrollment period lets you buy a Marketplace plan within 60 days, and you can drop it later when new coverage starts. You can also look at COBRA or Maine continuation, or MaineCare if your income is low.

Four: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Maine Community Health Options, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Mending Health. Anthem, Community Health Options and Harvard Pilgrim sell statewide, and Anthem has the largest share of enrollees.

Mending Health will stop offering coverage as of January 1, 2027. Your plan continues through the end of 2026, and you need to pick a new plan from another insurer during open enrollment starting November 1, 2026.

The Bureau of Insurance approved average increases before subsidies of 15.8% for Anthem, 6.6% for Harvard Pilgrim and 19.5% for Community Health Options, a weighted average of 14.8%. Your own change depends on your plan, age and tax credit.