Just got a COBRA letter? Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period — and because COBRA carries no employer contribution and no premium tax credit, the alternative is often much cheaper.
Not a government marketplace. Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC.
Florida leads the nation in ACA marketplace enrollment — roughly 4.2 million residents selected a plan in the most recent Open Enrollment, and about 95% of them qualified for a premium tax credit. After those subsidies, a large share of Floridians pay a small fraction of the sticker price, and many pay nothing at all for a Silver plan.
COBRA lets you keep your former employer's exact plan — but now you pay the whole premium plus a 2% admin fee, with no employer contribution. For most households that's $650–$1,200+ a month. The letter makes it sound like your only option. It isn't.
Losing employer coverage is a qualifying life event. It opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA marketplace, where your income may qualify you for a premium tax credit that COBRA can never offer. Many people who were paying $900 for COBRA move to a comparable Silver plan for $300–$450 — often keeping the same primary-care doctor in-network.
The timing move that saves people money: you have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a marketplace plan. Unlike COBRA, marketplace coverage is not retroactive — it starts on a future date, so a gap is possible if you wait. Before you pay that first COBRA invoice, it's worth a 10-minute call to compare. If an ACA plan beats COBRA, we help you enroll; if COBRA is genuinely better for your situation, we'll tell you that too.
Florida does not run its own exchange — marketplace plans here are sold through the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov. In practice that means the enrollment windows, the eligibility rules and the appeals process are the federal ones, and the plan you buy through a licensed agent is the identical plan at the identical price you would find on HealthCare.gov yourself. Florida uses the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov.
Worth knowing before you pay a COBRA invoice in Florida: the state has not expanded Medicaid, so a post-job-loss income drop rarely makes an adult Medicaid-eligible — which means your real alternative to COBRA is a subsidized marketplace plan, and subsidies here start at 100% of the federal poverty level. Children often still qualify for CHIP year-round, but for the adults the marketplace is the lever, and it usually beats COBRA on price. Florida has not expanded Medicaid, so the marketplace and its premium tax credits are the primary path to affordable coverage for most working-age Floridians — and the subsidies are more generous than many expect.
The carriers writing individual business in Florida include Florida Blue (BCBS of Florida), Ambetter from Sunshine Health, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna CVS Health, Cigna and others. Networks and pricing are set county by county rather than statewide, so the same carrier can be the best value in one metro and the wrong choice an hour away. We quote Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville — and every county in between.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
Yes. We help Florida residents compare COBRA alternatives options against the alternatives so you can see the real trade-offs before you enroll.
For most Floridians the cheapest genuine coverage is a subsidized ACA marketplace plan. With about 95% of Florida enrollees receiving a premium tax credit, many qualify for a Silver plan at little or no monthly cost after the subsidy, while others pay full price. If your income falls in the cost-sharing-reduction range, a Silver plan also lowers your deductible — often making it a better deal than a cheaper-looking Bronze plan.
Through HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace — Florida does not run its own exchange. You can enroll in those same plans through a licensed agent at no extra cost, which also lets you see private off-marketplace plans that HealthCare.gov does not list.
The carriers writing individual business in Florida include Florida Blue (BCBS of Florida), Ambetter from Sunshine Health, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna CVS Health, Cigna and others. Which of them is actually competitive depends on your county rather than the state — the lineup and the networks in Miami are not the lineup in Jacksonville. We are independent and compare across all of them rather than steering you to one company.
Start with your ZIP. Two quick questions, then a licensed agent brings you the plans you actually qualify for — no cost, no obligation.