HealthCare.gov Scams: Fake Health Plans at Open Enrollment

A HealthCare.gov scam usually starts with a search. You look for “Obamacare plans” or “cheap health insurance,” click the first result and land on a site with a familiar logo and a phone number to call. The site may not be the Marketplace at all.

The FTC warned in September 2026 that health insurance scams happen all year but pick up during Open Enrollment for Medicare and the Marketplace. This guide covers the Marketplace, where people under 65 buy coverage. If you have Medicare, read our alert on Medicare Open Enrollment scams instead, and see our overview of Medicare and health insurance scams.

What is a health insurance Marketplace scam?

It is a fake offer that pretends to be, or to come from, the official Marketplace at HealthCare.gov. The goal is your money, your personal information, or both.

The FTC says scammers and dishonest businesses use web addresses that look like government sites, together with search keywords and official-looking logos. If you use their link or phone number, you could end up paying for a plan that isn’t real health insurance, or exposing yourself to medical identity theft.

When is Marketplace Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage?

Open Enrollment starts on November 1, 2026 and ends on January 15, 2027, according to HealthCare.gov:

Date	What happens
November 1	Open Enrollment starts. First day to enroll in, renew or change a plan.
December 15	Last day to enroll or change plans for coverage that starts January 1.
January 1	Coverage starts if you enrolled by December 15 and paid your first premium.
January 15	Open Enrollment ends.
February 1	Coverage starts if you enrolled between December 16 and January 15 and paid your first premium.

Those deadlines are real, which is exactly why scammers use them. A caller or ad that says “only hours left to lock in your rate” in early November is using pressure, not the official calendar.

How do fake health plan ads and websites work?

The FTC says scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top of search results. Their ads can use words like “Marketplace,” “ACA” or “HealthCare.gov,” and their web addresses can look very close to the real one.

EXAMPLE — SCAM

Today 11:05 AM●●● ▮

Incoming call (877) 555-0189

Agent: Thanks for calling the Health Benefits Enrollment Center. Open Enrollment just started, and you qualify for a zero-premium plan.

Agent: To lock it in before the slot closes today, I need your Social Security number, your income and a card number for the one-time activation fee.

That call has every warning sign: a site you reached from an ad, a deadline of “today,” a fee to “activate” a plan, and a request for your Social Security number and card number before you’ve seen any plan details.

How can you check whether a plan or agent is real?

You can check any offer without trusting the person who made it:

1. Type the address yourself. The FTC says to type HealthCare.gov into your browser instead of clicking a link, or to call the Marketplace at 800-318-2596.
2. Slow down on search results. Look for the labels “Ad” or “Sponsored,” scroll past paid results and make sure the web address ends in .gov.
3. Look the plan up on HealthCare.gov. If a plan or price you were offered doesn’t appear when you search for it yourself, don’t sign up.
4. Get local help the safe way. The FTC points to the “Find Local Help” option on HealthCare.gov if you want someone to walk you through your choices.

For other look-alike sites, our checklist on how to tell if a website is legit walks through ten quick checks.

Is Marketplace coverage the same as Medicare?

No, and scammers sometimes blur the two. Medicare’s Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, according to Medicare.gov, and it is for people who already have Medicare. Marketplace Open Enrollment is for HealthCare.gov plans and runs from November 1 to January 15.

If you have Medicare, a caller offering a “Marketplace plan” or an “Obamacare upgrade” is a red flag. Medicare scams have their own warning signs, covered in our guide on how to protect your Medicare number.

What should you do if you gave your information to a fake site?

Act quickly and in this order:

• If you paid, call your bank or card company right away to stop or dispute the payment. Our first-hour checklist after a scam covers each step.
• If you shared your Social Security number or other personal details, go to IdentityTheft.gov to report it and get a recovery plan. Our guide on what to do about identity theft explains the next steps.
• Check whether you have real coverage by going to HealthCare.gov yourself or calling 800-318-2596.
• Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. To report the fake website itself, see how to report a scam website.