Health insurance in California: private plans, the Marketplace, and how AFHC helps

California health insurance facts

Marketplace

California runs its own state-based marketplace, Covered California.Source

2027 open enrollment

Covered California states that anyone can apply during open enrollment, November 1 to January 31. Apply by December 31 for a January 1 start; apply in January for a February 1 start.Source All states' 2027 dates.

Medicaid expansion

California adopted Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal, implemented January 1, 2014).Source

Short-term plans

Short-term limited duration health insurance cannot be issued, sold, renewed or offered in California. The prohibition took effect January 1, 2019 under Senate Bill 910.Source

State insurance department

California Department of Insurance. File complaints and check agent licenses here.Source

Facts checked 2026-09-14. Rules change; confirm anything you plan around at the linked source.

What Marketplace coverage costs in California

For 2026, 1,927,371 California residents picked a Marketplace plan during Open Enrollment, and 81.9% of them received an advance premium tax credit. The average premium was $737 a month per person before the credit and $264 after it, counting everyone who picked a plan. 11% paid $10 a month or less after the credit.Source State premium help paid by California’s own exchange is not included in these figures.

The benchmark plan, the second-lowest-cost silver plan that tax credits are measured against, averaged $570 a month for a 40-year-old in California in 2026, before any credit.Source

For 2027, insurers across the country proposed a median increase of 15%.Source Your own price depends on your age, county, household income and the plan you pick, and you see exact 2027 numbers only on a Marketplace application or a quote. How the pieces fit together is in how much health insurance costs per month.

What our clients in California actually paid each month is in health insurance cost by state.

Free, impartial help in California

If you have Medicare or will soon: California’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is California Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), 1-800-434-0222.Source SHIPs are federally funded, give objective one-on-one Medicare counseling, and there is no cost to use them.Source

America First Healthcare is a licensed agency, not a SHIP or a Marketplace assister. Use them, us, or both; a second opinion costs you nothing either way.

Who we usually help in California

Most California households who book a review are buying coverage without an employer in the middle. The hubs below explain each situation in detail. New to private coverage? Start with private health insurance in the USA.

• Self-employed and 1099 workers, plus the five coverage alternatives and how the rules differ by state
• Small business owners
• Early retirees bridging to Medicare
• People losing employer coverage
• People who are out of work
• Families who want catastrophic-first coverage

We work with families across California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Sacramento, and everywhere in between. The review is by phone or video, so where you live in the state does not change how it works.

How the free review works for California residents

1. Book online at the free healthcare review page or call (888) 728-7640. What an advisor does and how advisors are paid is on talk to a licensed advisor near you.
2. One scheduled call with one licensed advisor. We look at what you have and what your household actually needs in California.
3. You get the options side by side with every cost shown. No timeline and no pressure; move forward or walk away knowing where you stand.

On our homepage map, California is one of the states marked active now.

California health insurance FAQs

Educational only. Not medical, legal, or personalized insurance advice. Plans are offered and underwritten by third-party carriers. All states.