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ACA Marketplace enforcement cancels 315,000 enrollments and freezes agents
CMS canceled about 315,000 Marketplace enrollments covering more than 760,000 people and barred new agents and brokers from entering the federally facilitated Marketplace until February 1, 2027.
A federal crackdown on Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollments is pushing more Americans toward employer-sponsored coverage, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services canceled about 315,000 Marketplace enrollments covering more than 760,000 people as of August 31.
CMS said its latest anti-fraud actions also freeze new agents and brokers from entering the federally facilitated Marketplace until February 1, 2027, and the enforcement is separate from, but overlapping with, an affordability squeeze that has already reshaped the ACA market.
Marketplace enrollment dropped 13% from its 2025 peak to 19.2 million people by February, after enhanced premium tax credits expired. Urban Institute modeling cited by Insurance Business estimated that 3.2 million more people would move into employer-sponsored insurance in 2026 than if enhanced subsidies had remained.
For employers, the challenge is where newly Marketplace-bound workers go next, with KFF data showing that 80% of workers at firms offering health benefits are eligible for the company plan, falling to 67% for lower-wage-heavy workforces and to 53% in retail. Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback warned that the agent and broker freeze may hurt enrollment and could affect margins tied to higher risk pools, while CMS also said agents and brokers handled 76% of the 10.8 million active HealthCare.gov plan selections during 2026 open enrollment.