Private medical insurance

Okay, before you abandon the healthcare exchange to buy private insurance direct from the insurance companies, make sure you're using your adjust gross income when inputing your income. This should be line 37 on your 1040. If your income is still too high, consider contributing more to any tax advantaged retirement accounts like solo 401K, IRA or HSA if you enroll in a compatible high deductible health plan.

If you still can't qualify for subsidies, then consider shopping direct with the health insurance companies. You really don't need a broker, though you can use one, since the ACA prevents insurers from disqualifying you for pre-existing conditions. So to find a health provider, you can shop direct via the health insurance company's website. If you don't know who to use, see whom your last physician uses or find a primary care physician and compare prices between the different insurance they provided.

If you want to help reduce costs, consider a HSA compatible high deductible health plan. All ACA plans require a free yearly physical and preventative care like flu shots. So if you see your doctor an extra 2x a year on top of that, you will have to pay the fee out of pocket, though you pay at the negotiated rate your insurance company has with the provider.

So for example, I saw my primary care doctor beyond my yearly physical and it cost me $125. However, the non-insured rate my doctor charged was $220ish.

The usual trade offs with HSAs are there are no co-pays and you have to pay everything out of pocket until you reach your plans deductible. After that the insurance co-pay kicks in until you reach your yearly max.

The pros though are that you usually have lower premiums and you can save on your taxes by contributing to a HSA. If you have a single plan, in 2019 you can contribute up to $3500. So that would be a tax savings of anywhere from $525 to $770 if you max your HSA, plus whatever gains you may make in the market.

Okay, before you abandon the healthcare exchange to buy private insurance direct from the insurance companies, make sure you're using your adjust gross income when inputing your income. This should be line 37 on your 1040. If your income is still too high, consider contributing more to any tax advantaged retirement accounts like solo 401K, IRA or HSA if you enroll in a compatible high deductible health plan.

If you still can't qualify for subsidies, then consider shopping direct with the health insurance companies. You really don't need a broker, though you can use one, since the ACA prevents insurers from disqualifying you for pre-existing conditions. So to find a health provider, you can shop direct via the health insurance company's website. If you don't know who to use, see whom your last physician uses or find a primary care physician and compare prices between the different insurance they provided.

If you want to help reduce costs, consider a HSA compatible high deductible health plan. All ACA plans require a free yearly physical and preventative care like flu shots. So if you see your doctor an extra 2x a year on top of that, you will have to pay the fee out of pocket, though you pay at the negotiated rate your insurance company has with the provider.

So for example, I saw my primary care doctor beyond my yearly physical and it cost me $125. However, the non-insured rate my doctor charged was $220ish.

The usual trade offs with HSAs are there are no co-pays and you have to pay everything out of pocket until you reach your plans deductible. After that the insurance co-pay kicks in until you reach your yearly max.

The pros though are that you usually have lower premiums and you can save on your taxes by contributing to a HSA. If you have a single plan, in 2019 you can contribute up to $3500. So that would be a tax savings of anywhere from $525 to $770 if you max your HSA, plus whatever gains you may make in the market.