Health-Plan Calls in Open Enrollment: Shop Without Being Switched
Open enrollment brings calls about free or cheaper health plans. How to tell a legitimate agent from a lead generator and keep control of your enrollment.
A caller promises a plan with no premium and a gift card for signing up. Whether or not the person is honest, you can run your open-enrollment shopping so that you, not a phone call, decide which plan you end up with.
On October 29, 2026, FTC staff sent warning letters to 25 companies that market or generate sales leads for healthcare plans, as open enrollment begins. The FTC said the letters do not allege wrongdoing by any recipient and urge companies to review their advertising. They flagged four problems: misrepresenting a plan’s benefits or limitations, presenting a plan as major or comprehensive coverage when it is not, misrepresenting costs, and falsely claiming that enrollees will receive free offers, cash rewards, rebates or other incentives. Staff expect to send more letters on a rolling basis.
Those four claims also describe what to listen for when the phone rings.
What a legitimate call looks like, and what does not
| Safer sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|
| You asked for help and the caller was expected | An unsolicited call about a plan you did not request |
| The caller gives a name, employer and contact details, and you can check them with the Marketplace | The caller will only say “your health plan” and pushes you to decide today |
| Costs and limits are explained, and you can ask for the plan documents in writing | “Free,” “no cost,” a cash reward or gift card for enrolling (one of the FTC’s four concerns) |
| The plan is described as coverage you can look up on HealthCare.gov | A “discount card” or limited plan described as if it were full coverage |
| You pay premiums to the insurance company | You are asked to pay the Marketplace or a helper, or to read out card details to keep coverage |
HealthCare.gov’s fraud page supplies the last two rows: never give money, gift cards, cryptocurrency or card information to anyone who says you must pay to keep or apply for coverage, and pay premiums directly to your plan. It also says to ask a caller for their name, employer, contact details and proof of training and compare them with any Marketplace letter you received.
Who really calls from the Marketplace
HealthCare.gov says legitimate Marketplace calls come from 1-855-997-1890 or 844-477-7500, and that the Marketplace may call to confirm application details but won’t ask about your finances, health history or Marketplace account. If you are unsure, hang up and contact the Marketplace Call Center, or ask for a letter instead. The page also says the Call Center and certified assisters give free help, so you never need to pay a stranger for it. These are the numbers on that page as of October 30, 2026; check HealthCare.gov again before relying on them.
A shopping routine that keeps you in charge
- Start at HealthCare.gov or your state’s exchange. Type the address yourself. HealthCare.gov’s reminder for official sources: look for government seals and .gov web addresses.
- Make a note of your current plan and its renewal date before you compare anything.
- Decide before anyone calls. Write down the plan names that fit your doctors and prescriptions. A decision made in advance is harder to talk you out of.
- If you want an agent, choose and contact them yourself. Do not accept a stranger’s offer to “take a look” at your coverage on the phone. CMS says it will require electronic consumer authorization before an agent or broker can take any action on an application or enrollment, which is a reason to expect a consent step from any agent you hire.
- Never read out a Social Security number, bank number or Marketplace password to someone who called you.
- After enrolling, log in to your own account and confirm the plan name, effective date and payment details match what you chose. That check is our suggestion, not a quoted rule.
Why consent matters
CMS, which runs the federal Marketplace, reported that it canceled approximately 315,000 enrollments covering over 760,000 individuals after confirming they were unauthorized, and said it continues to work with insurers to identify potentially unauthorized enrollments (see CMS’s anti-fraud fact sheet). That fact sheet is not a measure of how likely any one household is to be affected, but it shows why you should treat your enrollment as something that can be changed without you noticing.
If the call is already happening
- Say, “I’m not making changes by phone. Please send it in writing.” Then hang up.
- Do not press numbers or say “yes” to confirm a recording.
- Check the caller against the Marketplace letter and numbers above.
- If you gave information, tell your plan and the Marketplace Call Center, and see our checklist for locking down exposed data.
Reporting
The FTC asks people to report suspected fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or by calling the Consumer Response Center at 877-382-4357. HealthCare.gov says suspected fraud goes to the FTC, with a call to local police and the Marketplace Call Center. The FTC also reminds us that it “will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize,” which makes a useful test for any caller claiming to be from a government body. If a caller says they represent a government agency and you doubt it, read how to call back before you trust a company that called you first.
Questions to ask any agent you choose
If you decide to use an agent, contact them yourself and ask these before sharing anything. They are our suggestions, built from the FTC’s four concerns and HealthCare.gov’s guidance:
- Is this plan on the HealthCare.gov Marketplace, or is it a different kind of product, such as a limited indemnity plan or a medical discount program?
- What is the premium, the deductible and the out-of-pocket maximum, in writing?
- Will you ask for my electronic consent before you act on my application?
- Will I keep my own login and my own contact email on the account?
- What happens if I want to change plans later?
Limited indemnity plans and discount programs are the product types the FTC names in its letters alongside Marketplace insurance. They can be legitimate products, but they are not the same as comprehensive coverage, and a pitch that blurs the two is one of the FTC’s concerns.
If you think your plan was changed
Log in to your own HealthCare.gov account and compare the plan, the start date and the payment details with what you chose. If something differs, call the Marketplace Call Center on a number from HealthCare.gov, and ask what happened and how to correct it. Tell your plan too. Keep notes of the date, who you spoke with and what you were told.
Translating a pitch into the FTC’s four concerns
| You hear | FTC concern | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| “This plan covers everything” | Presenting a plan as major or comprehensive coverage when it is not | “Is this a Marketplace plan? Send me the summary of benefits and the list of exclusions.” |
| “It costs almost nothing” | Misrepresenting costs | “What is the monthly premium, the deductible and the out-of-pocket limit, exactly?” |
| “Includes dental, vision and prescriptions free” | Misrepresenting benefits or limitations | “Which of those are insurance, and which are discounts?” |
| “Sign up now and get a gift card or cash reward” | Falsely claiming free offers, cash rewards or rebates | “Where is that reward promised in writing?” If the answer is vague, end the call |
Your enrollment calendar
With the dates HealthCare.gov lists for the 2027 plan year, a simple plan keeps you ahead of the callers:
- Before November 1: gather your current plan details, income estimate and doctor and prescription lists. Decide what you want to compare.
- November 1 onward: open HealthCare.gov (typed by you) and apply or review plans. The page says you can apply for 2027 coverage from that date.
- By December 15: enroll or change plans for coverage starting January 1, paying your first premium.
- December 16 to January 15: you can still enroll, with coverage starting February 1 if you pay the first premium.
- After January 15: the page says you can enroll only if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
Consider placing a reminder for each date. A caller who says your coverage “expires tomorrow” can be checked against this calendar in a minute.
Where to get free help that is not a cold call
HealthCare.gov says the Marketplace Call Center offers “free, non-biased personal help” 24/7 and that certified assisters also give free help. It also says only partners approved by the Marketplace can provide quotes and enroll you, and that you can check the approved enrollment partner list. That is the antidote to a lead generator: you start the contact, with an organization you can verify.
Scenarios
- You pressed 1 on a recorded message. Pressing a key is not a contract. Do not give any information to the live caller who follows. If you already gave personal information, see our 30-minute lock-down plan.
- A caller knows your name and your current insurer. That proves little, since such details are easy to obtain. Hang up and call the Marketplace Call Center or your insurer on a number you looked up independently.
- An agent you chose wants to “update” your application. Ask what changed and why, and expect an electronic consent step. If you do not understand it, log in yourself and look.
- Your plan’s premium is higher on the bill than the call promised. Contact the insurer and the Marketplace in writing, keep notes of the call date, and report misleading marketing to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The FTC press release says its letters do not allege wrongdoing by any recipient, and many agents and brokers do honest work. The routine here is not about distrusting everyone; it is about making sure that any enrollment decision starts with you.