You are buying health insurance on your own. Here is how it actually works.
Most people land here for one of four reasons: a job ended, a job never had benefits, a spouse's plan got expensive, or a child turned 26. The rules are the same in all four cases, and they are not complicated once somebody lays them out.
When you can buy
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1 through January 15 on healthcare.gov. Two other dates matter more than the start. If you want coverage in force on January 1, you generally need to be enrolled by December 15. And the closing date is not the same in every state, because some states run their own exchange and go later.
Outside that window you need a qualifying life event. The common ones are losing other coverage, moving, marriage, divorce, and the birth or adoption of a child. Losing coverage opens a 60 day window, and it can open up to 60 days before the old plan actually ends, which almost nobody is told.
What actually decides whether a plan is a good one
Not the premium by itself. Four things matter together, and you cannot judge any one of them alone.
Whether your doctors and your hospital are in the network
Whether your prescriptions are on the drug list, and at what tier
What you pay before the deductible is met, not just after
What the worst year would cost you, which is the out of pocket maximum
What I will need from you
Names and dates of birth for everyone going on the plan, your zip code, an estimate of your household income for the year, the doctors you want to keep, and the prescriptions you take. That is enough for me to run real numbers instead of ranges.
What this costs you
Nothing. Agent commissions are paid by the carrier and are already built into the premium whether you use an agent or not. A Marketplace plan costs the same through me as it does on healthcare.gov. The difference is that you get somebody who answers the phone in March when a claim gets denied.
What I will tell you straight
If you have an offer of coverage through work, or through a spouse's job, that beats what I can sell you, I will say so. If a short term plan is the wrong fit for your situation, I will say that too. If you are 65 or older, the Medicare rules are different from everything on this page, and if you have coverage through a job you should talk to me before you change anything.
Where to start
Or pick a time and I'll call you
Jacob Drake, licensed health insurance agent, NPN 16627547. HealthMarkets, 2021 Richard Jones Rd, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37215. Licensed in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.