Executive Summary
When Illinois passed legislation in 2023 to move to a fully state-based health insurance marketplace, the timeline to deliver was ambitious. In just two years, the State would need to stand up an entirely new enrollment system capable of handling every step of the coverage process—from plan comparison to application, enrollment, payment, and renewal. For years, Illinois residents used HealthCare.gov for these functions. Although GetCoveredIllinois.gov existed, it served mainly as an informational guide, sending users back to federal systems to complete their applications.
The transition represented both a policy milestone and a major technical undertaking. A statebased marketplace meant Illinois could tailor the experience to its residents, strengthen local outreach, refine affordability initiatives, and design a system grounded in the specific needs of Illinois families. The vision was clear: to create a single, seamless destination where residents could not only learn about health insurance but confidently enroll in the plan that best fit their needs. On October 1, 2025, the State delivered on that vision. With the launch of the new Get Covered Illinois platform, residents could—for the first time—complete the entire enrollment journey within one state-managed environment.
The impact was immediate. During the 2026 open enrollment period in Fall 2025, the platform saw more than 2.7 million visits and supported nearly 450,000 enrollments, a strong indication that Illinoisans embraced the new marketplace. The website for the marketplace even earned national recognition as a 2026 Webby Honoree in the Web Services & Applications category.
