Utah health insurance questions, answered.
Answers from licensed agents about buying your own coverage in Utah, organized by topic.
Getting started
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Open enrollment runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Pick a plan by December 15 if you want coverage to start January 1; plans chosen later in the window start February 1. After January 15 you need a qualifying life event, such as losing other coverage.
No. Utah uses the federal Marketplace at HealthCare.gov. You can apply there yourself or work with a licensed agent who can compare Marketplace plans for you.
According to KFF, the average benchmark Silver premium for a 40-year-old in Utah is $640 a month in 2026, up from $547 in 2025. Your price depends on age, county and plan, and most enrollees pay much less after the premium tax credit.
Leaving a job
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Often yes. If you are not eligible for federal COBRA, Utah's mini-COBRA law lets you keep an insured employer group plan for up to 12 months, if you were on it for at least three months in a row. You pay up to 102% of the full group rate.
You must elect it within 60 days of losing group coverage and pay the required amount. Your employer must mail you a notice within 30 days after coverage ends. If no notice comes, you can still contact the insurer within 60 days of losing coverage.
No. Losing job-based coverage gives you a 60-day special enrollment period for Marketplace plans, which may cost less if your income dropped. If your income is low enough, you may qualify for Utah Medicaid.
Yes. It can end early if you stop paying, move out of Utah or the insurer's service area, or become eligible for similar group coverage elsewhere. It can also end if your former employer drops its group plan without replacing it.
Early retirement
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Yes, if your household income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. The extra help that removed the 400% cap ended after 2025, so income above that line means no premium tax credit in 2026.
Possibly. Adults 19 to 64 with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level, about $21,228 a year for one person, can qualify. Starting January 1, 2027, many members must show 80 hours a month of work or other qualifying activity, or a reason they cannot.
It is running now. Utah law says the state's authority for expansion ends if the federal share of costs for expansion adults drops below 90%, and the state would first look at cost-cutting options. If you rely on Medicaid, watch for notices from the state.
Self-employed
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No. Utah does not have its own coverage mandate or tax penalty. Going without coverage still leaves you open to large medical bills.
If your household income is up to 250% of the federal poverty level, Silver plans come with cost-sharing reductions that lower deductibles and copays. Nearly 44% of Utah Marketplace enrollees picked one of these plans for 2026.
For 2026, the average was $120 a month after subsidies, and $68 among those who got a premium tax credit. About one in four paid less than $10 a month. What you pay depends on your income, age and plan.
Short-term plans
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Utah allows first terms of less than 12 months and up to 36 months in total with renewals. Each insurer sets its own terms, so check the policy before you buy.
A 2024 federal rule set that limit, but in August 2025 federal agencies said they would not prioritize enforcing it. Longer short-term plans following Utah's rules were for sale in early 2026.
Utah rules require a benefit maximum of at least $1 million and cap your coinsurance at 50%. Plans generally do not have to cover mental health care, maternity care or outpatient prescriptions, and they can exclude existing conditions.
Non-ACA options
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Yes. Utah's insurance code does not apply to a sharing ministry that gives you a written notice saying it is not insurance and that you remain responsible for your own bills. It must also give members a yearly statement of how much it shared.
No. Premium tax credits apply only to Marketplace plans. A sharing ministry is not insurance under Utah law and does not guarantee that any bill will be paid.
Insurers
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Six insurers: BridgeSpan, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, SelectHealth, University of Utah Health Plans, Imperial Health Plan of the Southwest and Molina Healthcare of Utah. Not every insurer sells in every county, and Molina is limited to two southwest Utah counties.
Aetna left the individual market at the end of 2025, so its members had to choose a new plan for 2026. If you still need coverage, you can enroll during open enrollment or with a special enrollment period.
Approved increases average about 6.7% before subsidies. By insurer, they range from about 3.9% for Regence to about 15.8% for Imperial, with SelectHealth at about 6% and University of Utah Health Plans at about 15.4%.
Sources
Reviewed October 2026. Rules and prices change every year; a licensed agent will confirm what applies to you.
- HealthCare.gov: Dates and deadlines
- healthinsurance.org: Utah health insurance marketplace
- ASTHO: ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, Legislative Developments in 2025 and 2026
- Utah Medicaid: Adult Expansion
- Utah Code 26B-3-210: Medicaid expansion
- Utah Code 31A-22-722: Utah mini-COBRA benefits for employer group coverage
- healthinsurance.org: Utah short-term health insurance
- Groom Law Group: Non-enforcement relief for short-term limited duration insurance
- Utah Code 31A-1-103: Scope and applicability of title (health care sharing ministries)
- KFF: Marketplace average benchmark premiums
See what you'd actually pay.
A licensed agent will compare plans from every insurer in your Utah county, check your subsidy, and walk you through the options. No cost, no obligation.