Choosing a health plan
shouldn't be this confusing.
I'm Zach, an independent broker licensed in FL, MI, NC, AZ, TX, GA, IN, and SC. I'll look at the plan you have now, show you what else you can get in your state, and check whether your doctors take it before you change anything.
I'm the one who calls, at the time you pick. I don't sell your information or pass it to other agents.
On the call I'll ask what you're paying now, which doctors you want to keep, and what your household income looks like. Your income is what decides whether the government helps with your monthly bill (the premium) on a plan from the health insurance marketplace. Then I'll walk you through the plans you can actually get where you live. It takes 30 minutes, and you don't have to decide anything on the call.
Carriers I work with
11 carriers
A carrier is the insurance company that pays the claim. I'm appointed (contracted to sell) with the private health, life, and supplemental carriers, except UnitedHealthcare's private health plans, where my appointment isn't active; supplemental pays cash for something like a hospital stay. For a marketplace plan I help you enroll instead, through healthcare.gov or HealthSherpa, in FL, MI, NC, AZ, TX, IN, and SC; in Georgia, you enroll yourself at Georgia Access.
PPO networks
5 networks
A PPO network is the list of doctors and hospitals a plan has contracts with; you pay less when you use them. I'll look your doctors up in the plan's own directory before you switch.
Licensed in
8 states
FL, MI, NC, AZ, TX, GA, IN, and SC. My NPN is 18181266. Search my name on NIPR and it should come back with that number. Whether my license in your state is active is on your state insurance department's own lookup.
What I help with before you pick a plan
These are the questions people ask me most often. If yours isn't here, bring it to the call.
Keeping your doctors
Tell me which doctors you want to keep. Before you switch, I'll look each one up in that plan's provider directory. That's the list the plan publishes of the doctors in its network.
High deductible or not
You pay less each month, more yourself first. The deductible is what you pay each year before the plan pays. Some plans add a health savings account for those bills.
Income and your subsidy
On a marketplace plan, the government may pay part of your monthly bill. That help is the subsidy, or premium tax credit. I'll go through how your income is counted.
A second look each fall
Plans change from one year to the next. If you enroll through me in FL, MI, NC, AZ, TX, IN, and SC, I'll look at yours again each fall, during the yearly window when anyone can change plans. The dates are on healthcare.gov; for Georgia, on Georgia Access. Georgians enroll there themselves, and I can give you a second read on a plan summary you send me.
I'm the one who calls, at the time you pick. I don't sell your information or pass it to other agents.
Bring your current plan if you have one, or just your questions. I'll go through your options with you on the phone, and you don't have to decide anything that day.
The carriers I can place your coverage with
11 carriers across health, life, and supplemental coverage, plus the 5 PPO networks the private health plans run on. A carrier pays your claim. A network decides which doctors are covered. They aren’t the same thing, so I don’t list them as though they were.
Blue Cross Blue Shield
ACA marketplace · enrollment help
UnitedHealthcare
ACA marketplace · enrollment help / Private health, medically underwritten · appointment not active
Philadelphia American Life
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
MedMutual Protect
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
SGIC
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
Allstate Health Solutions
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
Mutual of Omaha
Life · appointed
Illinois Mutual
Life · appointed
Americo
Life · appointed
Aflac
Supplemental · appointed
Combined Insurance Company of America
Supplemental · appointed
Blue Cross Blue Shield
ACA marketplace · enrollment help
UnitedHealthcare
ACA marketplace · enrollment help / Private health, medically underwritten · appointment not active
Philadelphia American Life
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
MedMutual Protect
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
SGIC
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
Allstate Health Solutions
Private health, medically underwritten · appointed
Mutual of Omaha
Life · appointed
Illinois Mutual
Life · appointed
Americo
Life · appointed
Aflac
Supplemental · appointed
Combined Insurance Company of America
Supplemental · appointed
The PPO networks those private plans run on
These are provider networks, not carriers. They don’t underwrite anything and they don’t pay claims. They decide whether your doctor is in.
First Health PPO
Used by Philadelphia American Life, MedMutual Protect, SGIC
See if your doctor is covered
5 PPO networks, each with a lookup
A plan is only as good as the doctors it covers. Each private health plan runs on a PPO network, the group of doctors and hospitals that plan has contracted with, and every one of those networks has its own provider search.
See the networks and check your doctor8 states
FL • MI • NC • AZ • TX • GA • IN • SC
I can only advise you in a state where I hold a license. If your state isn't in that list, tell me and I'll say so rather than take the call.
The call is free
30 minutes, no obligation
I'll go through what you have now, what it covers, and how the other options compare. On a private plan the price depends on the insurance company's review of your health history. If you're better off where you are, I'll tell you that and leave it alone.
I’m appointed with the private health, life, and supplemental carriers above, except UnitedHealthcare’s private health plans, where my appointment isn’t active. Appointed means that company has contracted me to sell its plans. Marketplace plans work differently: there’s no appointment involved, so I help you enroll instead, through healthcare.gov or HealthSherpa, in FL, MI, NC, AZ, TX, IN, and SC; in Georgia, you enroll yourself at Georgia Access.
You deal with me.
Start to finish.
Here's what that actually means, so you know what you're getting into before you book anything.
No
call center.
You won't be handed off to someone reading from a script. You talk to me, and I'm the one who knows your name, your household, and what's actually on your policy.
We look at your coverage together.
On the call I'll pull up what you have now and go through your options with you, rather than leaving you to work through a PDF on your own. Ask me anything while we're on the phone.
You don't pay me.
The insurance company pays me a commission when you enroll. That's how I get paid. You don't pay me a fee.
What to expect from me.
I'm one licensed broker, and you'll deal with me start to finish.
What I tell you on the phone is what you're reading here.
Staying put is an option
no is a real answer
If the plan you already have is the better one, I'll tell you so and you'll keep it. I'd rather say that than move you into something you didn't need.
I'll say it plainly
no jargon
Deductible, network, subsidy - I'll tell you what each one means for your money before I use the word again. If something doesn't land, say so and I'll put it another way. You should finish the call knowing what you're buying and why.
Health and life only
the whole list
That's what I'm licensed for, and it's all I sell. Ask me about your car or your house and I'll tell you straight that I'm not the right person for it. You can look up my license before you ever talk to me.