You do the work of an employee and carry the costs of a business. Coverage is the line item where that gap hurts most.
If you're paid on a 1099, the company you work for has no obligation to offer you health insurance — regardless of how many hours you put in or how long the contract runs. That's the whole reason this page exists.
The employer mandate applies to full-time employees. As a contractor, you fall outside it. No group plan, no employer contribution, no payroll deduction, and no HR department to answer questions. Everything that used to be handled for you is now yours.
One thing worth naming: some workers are classified as 1099 when the nature of the work looks a lot like employment. That's a legal question well outside what a broker should opine on, but if you suspect it applies to you, it's worth asking someone qualified — because the answer changes what you're entitled to.
Marketplace plans can only be purchased during Open Enrollment or within 60 days of a qualifying life event. Contract ending isn't automatically a qualifying event the way losing employer coverage is — so if you've been uninsured and simply decide in June that you'd like coverage, the Marketplace may not be open to you.
This got stricter in 2026. Under legislation passed in July 2025, people who enroll through a special enrollment period that isn't tied to a qualifying life event are no longer eligible for premium tax credits at all. The fallback that used to exist is gone, which makes the enrollment window matter far more than it did two years ago.
Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage opens November 1, 2026. The closing date is genuinely unsettled — I've explained why here, along with the one date that makes the question irrelevant.
Contract work tends to produce lumpy income: three strong months, a gap, a large invoice that lands in December. Marketplace subsidies are based on annual projected income, so a good Q4 can push you over the 400% threshold you were comfortably under in June. Since the subsidy cliff returned in 2026, that's not a small adjustment — above the line, the credit is zero.
If your income swings, this is worth managing deliberately during the year instead of discovering in April.
On-exchange plan menus have drifted steadily toward narrow HMOs and EPOs — tight local networks, referrals required, and very little coverage once you leave the service area. That's a poor fit for how a lot of contract work actually runs.
If you take assignments in more than one metro, travel to client sites, spend part of the year somewhere else, or simply want to keep a specialist who isn't in the local network, a PPO solves a problem an HMO can't. Off-exchange PPO options are frequently broader than what's available on the Marketplace, and above the subsidy cliff there's no financial reason to accept a narrower network for a higher price.
For 2026, that cliff sits at $62,600 for one person and $128,600 for a household of four. Contractors billing well clear it often, which means many are paying unsubsidized Marketplace rates for a network built for someone who never leaves their county.
A word on what these plans are, because vague descriptions are how people get surprised. They're medically underwritten — the application asks about your health history, and coverage can be declined, limited, or priced based on it. They're also not ACA-compliant, which means pre-existing conditions may be excluded and the essential health benefits guaranteed on every Marketplace plan aren't automatic here.
What you get for that is a lower premium, a real maximum out-of-pocket, and frequently a wider network. Whether that trade favors you depends almost entirely on your health, which is why it's the first thing I ask about — before I quote anything. Term length and renewal rules vary by plan and by state, and I'll tell you exactly what applies to yours.
If you have an ongoing condition, an ACA plan's guaranteed coverage is often worth more than the premium difference, and I'll say so. That's a real conversation, not a formality.
Nothing. Not a fee, not a markup, not a "consultation charge." Brokers are paid a commission by the insurance carrier, and that commission is built into the premium whether you use a broker or not. Enroll directly and the carrier keeps it. Enroll through me and it pays for someone who works on your behalf and picks up the phone in March when something goes wrong.
The plan costs the same either way. I'd rather you know exactly how I'm paid than wonder. There's a fuller explanation on the licensing page, along with my NPN so you can verify I am who I say I am.
Generally no. The ACA employer mandate applies to full-time employees, not independent contractors. A company can choose to offer contractors a stipend or reimbursement arrangement, but it is not required to provide coverage.
The ACA Marketplace with income-based premium tax credits, a spouse's employer plan if available, Medicaid if income qualifies, or non-Marketplace products such as short-term coverage where state law permits. Which is best depends on income, health history, and state.
Only with a qualifying life event — losing other coverage, marriage, birth, or a move — which opens a 60-day special enrollment window. Since 2026, enrolling through a special enrollment period not tied to a qualifying event means no premium tax credits.
Licensed in 29 states as Rohr Health Advisors LLC — Cavin Rohr, NPN 21388659. You can verify that before you call me, and I'd encourage it.
No fee, no pressure, no obligation to enroll in anything.
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