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Cancelling, Terminating a Plan, or Stopping Automatic Renewal ACA

A quick guide for agents and brokers on how to stop a client's coverage, stop automatic renewal, and fix issues when an option won't work.

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Written by Tripp Hill

Cancelling a plan, terminating a plan, or stopping automatic renewal

How to start

From the Active Policies (on EDE application Overview) page, click Cancel Plan. The Manage Plan window opens. Enter a Cancellation Effective Date, then click Terminate Plan.

Warn the client first: once coverage is stopped, they can't re-enroll until they qualify for a special enrollment period or until open enrollment.

The date you enter decides the action

  • Cancel — used when the plan hasn't started yet. The date must be the coverage start date or the day before.

  • Terminate — used when coverage has already started. The date must be today or a future date. No backdating.

Valid dates

  • No past dates.

  • If a plan already has a future stop date, you can move it earlier (to today or any date before the current one) — never later.

  • If the window rejects your date, it breaks one of these rules.

Troubleshooting

No option to cancel or it won't go through — the action only appears when the client is eligible. Usually the plan has already ended.

Can't remove just one family member — only whole plans can be stopped. To drop one person, report a life change so they're no longer requesting coverage.

Terminating health also stops dental — when both are active, stopping health stops all active health and dental plans at once. Dental-only coverage isn't offered.

Stopping automatic renewal

Use the Stop coverage for [next year] button to opt out of automatic renewal into next year's plan.

It's only available when:

  • You're inside the yearly opt-out window.

  • The plan is finalized (not pending).

  • The plan isn't already set to stop before December 31, and the client hasn't already opted out.

Opting out applies to all plans on the application — not a single plan or person.

What happens:

  • Next year's renewal not yet created → the current plan stops December 31, and no renewal is created.

  • Next year's renewal already created → the current plan stops December 31, and the next-year plan is cancelled.

Still stuck?

Check the date rules first. If a valid action still won't go through, the client can finish onHealthCare.gov or by calling the Marketplace Call Center.

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