Certain Marketplace Changes Paused

On August 22, 2025, a U.S. District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking several provisions of the new “Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule,” which had been set to take effect shortly and would likely have affected coverage for individuals beginning in 2026. The rule would have imposed stricter income verification, premium penalties for auto-re-enrollees, exclusions for individuals with unpaid premiums, and tighter eligibility checks for special enrollment periods. The judge found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Administrative Procedure Act claims and that the changes risked irreparable harm by pushing millions off coverage. Some provisions of the rule will proceed (e.g., changes to cost-sharing calculations and the elimination of the 60-day reconciliation window for income discrepancies), but the ruling temporarily preserves broader access to Marketplace individual coverage while litigation continues over whether the rule unlawfully undermines the ACA’s protections. The text of the opinion can be found here.