The short answer: before you compare, gather four things: the doctors you want to keep, every medication you take, a rough picture of last year's care, and your current plan's paperwork. If you are looking at the Marketplace, add your household details and your best income estimate for next year. With that list in hand, you can compare Marketplace and private plans on what actually matters to you, not just the monthly price.
Picture it
It is a Sunday night in early December. You finally sit down to pick next year's plan, and every screen asks something you have to go and find. Which pharmacy? What was that specialist's name? How much did you earn this year? You give up at the third question, promise yourself you will finish tomorrow, and tomorrow turns into the week after December 15.
Now picture the other version. In November, you spend fifteen minutes with a notepad and a shoebox of paperwork. Doctors, medications, last year's visits, your renewal notice. When you sit down to compare, or send the list to us, every plan can be checked against your real life in one pass. The decision takes an evening instead of a month.
1. Your doctors, by name
- Every doctor, specialist and hospital you want to keep, with the city they practice in.
- Why it matters: plans, benefits and provider networks can change at any time, and a doctor can be in a plan's network one year and out of it the next. We never answer "is my doctor covered?" from memory; we check it at enrollment. The Plan Finder links straight to each network's directory so you can look a doctor up yourself. Doctor left your network?
2. Your prescriptions
- Every medication by name and dose, including the ones you take every month and anything you fill only now and then.
- Whether each one is brand or generic. If you are not sure, the label or your pharmacy can tell you.
- Why it matters: prescription benefits differ by plan. Some cover generics only, some include brand and specialty, and some route maintenance medications through mail order. Check your prescriptions before you pick a plan.
3. Last year's care, roughly
- How many doctor and specialist visits you and your family had, and anything you already know is coming next year: a procedure, a baby, a regular therapy.
- Whether you met your deductible this year, and roughly what you paid out of pocket.
- Why it matters: the premium is only part of the year. Premium times twelve, plus the deductible, copays and coinsurance, up to the out-of-pocket maximum, is what a year really costs. If you rarely see a doctor, the premium matters most. If you have a regular specialist, a monthly prescription or a procedure coming, the deductible and copays can matter more. How to compare plans by the real yearly cost.
4. Your current plan's paperwork
- The renewal notice, with next year's monthly price and any tax credit on it.
- Your insurance card, for the policy number.
- Where the plan comes from: your job, the Marketplace, or a plan you bought yourself. A payroll deduction or a subsidised premium is only your share of a larger price, so this decides what you are really comparing. Am I overpaying?
5. If you are applying on the Marketplace
HealthCare.gov publishes its own application checklist. It asks you to have ready:
- Information about everyone in your household, including people not applying for coverage, with names, birthdays and Social Security Numbers.
- Home and mailing addresses for everyone applying.
- How you file your taxes, and who you claim as a dependent.
- Current job, income and expense information for everyone in the household, such as W-2s and pay stubs, and net income from any self-employment or business.
- Your best estimate of household income for the year you want coverage. Marketplace savings are based on expected income for that year, not last year's.
- Current coverage and policy numbers, and information about any job-based plan anyone in the household is eligible for, even if they are not enrolled in it.
Work for yourself? The income estimate is the hard part. How to choose when you are self-employed.
6. Your dates
- On HealthCare.gov, Open Enrollment for 2027 starts November 1. Enroll or change by December 15 for a January 1 start. Open Enrollment ends January 15, and changes from December 16 through January 15 start February 1. A few state-run exchanges use their own windows.
- Private plans are not part of the Marketplace and enroll any month. For most private plans on our site, applications submitted by the 23rd of the month start on the 1st of the next month, if the carrier approves you. Private plans ask health questions, so have your medical history to hand. What the health questions ask.
- Do not cancel anything yet. If you switch, the new plan should be in force before the old one ends. How to switch without a gap.
Have your list? Send it to us, or start with Draft My Plan, which lines up options from your state, your age and who needs coverage.
This is general education, not tax advice and not a guarantee of coverage or savings. Plan designs, pricing, enrollment dates, networks and eligibility depend on your state, your location and underwriting. Never share your personal information with anyone offering cash, gifts or other perks to sign you up.