If you work for a church, your options are different.

I worked in churches from 2010 on, and I was a full-time pastor in Virginia for five years. Today I still serve churches as an interim transitional pastor. I have been the one writing the budget, so I know what the health insurance line does to it. I am an independent health insurance agent now, and this is the corner of the business I understand best. I am here to help you choose well, not to sell you a plan.

Who this usually helps

Pastors, associate pastors, executive pastors, ministers, and directors
Smaller churches working out what they can actually afford
Childcare and Mother's Day Out staff
Anyone leaving a church staff position
Bivocational pastors already covered through another employer

One church I reviewed this year stands to save tens of thousands of dollars.

When you can buy

Open enrollment: November 1 to January 15 on HealthCare.gov
Want coverage on January 1? Enroll by December 15
Some states close later because they run their own exchange
Leaving a church staff position? You can buy outside open enrollment through a Special Enrollment Period. Losing coverage opens a 60-day window, and it can open up to 60 days before your old plan ends. Church plans generally do not offer COBRA, so this window is usually your route. It is a short clock, and nobody sends a reminder.

The part most pastors have never been told

Housing allowance generally does not count: clergy housing allowance is excluded from modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), the number the Marketplace uses to set your eligibility.
A salary that looks too high may not be: once housing is taken out, a pastor can land well inside subsidy range.
It depends on your own numbers: ten minutes on the phone will tell us. Your tax preparer can confirm what applies to you.

If you are on a denominational plan

Some denominations require participation in their own plan, and the rules differ by denomination.
Do not drop that coverage on my say-so. Bring me the plan documents, and we will read them together before anything changes.
Some situations have allowable exceptions, and plenty do not.

What I need from you

The quickest way is my short form: Fill out the form

It asks for:

Names and birth dates for everyone on the plan
ZIP code
Estimated household income for the year
Doctors you want to keep
Prescriptions you take

If you receive a housing allowance, have that amount handy separately from your salary.

Don't have it all yet? Book a time anyway, and we'll start with what you have.

Pick a time and I'll call you

What this costs you

Nothing: my help is free to you.
You pay the same whether you buy on an app, through an impersonal call center, or through a local agent.
The difference: you get me, and I answer the phone in March when a claim gets denied.

What I will tell you straight

If your denominational plan is the better deal, I will tell you.
If you are 65 or older, or already on Medicare, that is a separate conversation with its own rules, and I will not advise you off group coverage. Medicare works differently.

Where to start

No pressure and no obligation to buy.