Plans that scale with your household — pediatric dental and vision included, with networks that keep your kids' doctors in-network.
Not a government marketplace. Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC.
Illinois expanded Medicaid in 2014, so lower-income residents often qualify for no-cost coverage, while everyone above that line enrolls in marketplace plans where roughly 90% receive a premium tax credit. As of the 2026 plan year Illinois runs its own marketplace, Get Covered Illinois, at getcovered.illinois.gov — it replaced HealthCare.gov for Illinois residents, and existing HealthCare.gov accounts were migrated over. The metal tiers, essential health benefits and premium tax credits did not change; the enrollment front door did.
Family coverage is where plan selection really pays off, because the cheapest premium is rarely the cheapest plan once you add up the whole household's real usage — well-child visits, vaccines, the ER trip that always seems to happen, ongoing prescriptions. ACA plans include pediatric dental and vision as essential benefits, and Silver-tier cost-sharing reductions can dramatically lower a family's deductible if your income qualifies.
The trap families fall into is buying on premium alone and discovering their pediatrician or a specific children's hospital is out of network. We check networks against the doctors you actually use before you enroll, and we compare a Gold plan's higher premium against a Bronze plan's higher out-of-pocket for your household's expected year.
For Illinois families with a new baby, a marriage, an adoption or a move, those are all qualifying life events that open a Special Enrollment Period — you don't have to wait for Open Enrollment to add coverage.
Illinois runs its own exchange, Get Covered Illinois, rather than using HealthCare.gov. That matters more than it sounds: state-based exchanges set their own Open Enrollment dates, can recognize special enrollment situations the federal marketplace does not, and sometimes administer state-only programs that have no federal equivalent. Check the Get Covered Illinois calendar rather than assuming the federal dates apply to you. Illinois runs its own state-based marketplace, Get Covered Illinois, which replaced HealthCare.gov for Illinois residents starting with the 2026 plan year. The plans and premium tax credits are the same — only the enrollment site changed.
For a Illinois household earning above roughly 138% of the federal poverty level, the marketplace subsidy — not Medicaid — is what makes family coverage affordable, and it scales with household size. Where the line still matters is mixed households: even when the parents take a subsidized marketplace plan, the children may qualify for low-cost CHIP, and applying as a household surfaces that without pulling the adults out of a marketplace plan. Illinois expanded Medicaid in 2014, so lower-income adults may qualify for no-cost coverage. Above that threshold, marketplace premium tax credits take over — we'll help you find where you land.
The carriers writing individual business in Illinois include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna CVS Health, Ambetter from Meridian, UnitedHealthcare, 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 Chicago, Aurora, Rockford and Peoria — and every county in between.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
It depends on your income and who needs coverage, but for most families residents of Illinois a subsidized ACA marketplace plan is the strongest option — it's guaranteed-issue, covers pre-existing conditions, and the premium tax credit is income-based. We compare it against private plans so you see the full picture.
Through Get Covered Illinois, the exchange Illinois runs itself — not HealthCare.gov. A licensed agent can enroll you in the same plans at the same price. Because Illinois sets its own calendar, check the Open Enrollment dates against Get Covered Illinois rather than assuming the federal ones apply to you.
The carriers writing individual business in Illinois include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna CVS Health, Ambetter from Meridian, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and others. Which of them is actually competitive depends on your county rather than the state — the lineup and the networks in Chicago are not the lineup in Peoria. 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.