You can still get a nationwide PPO in Ohio, even though the Ohio marketplace offers HMOs and nothing else. Here's how electricians who work under their own license in Ohio are getting coverage that fits.
Hi, I'm Sam. Health insurance is my whole practice, I run it from Tampa, and Ohio is among the 36 states where I hold a license. Everything happens on the phone.
Ohio has steady work for a good electrician. Plants and warehouses need maintenance and upgrades, older houses in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo need rewiring and new panels, and every winter storm brings service calls. Many electricians here eventually pull permits under their own license. When they do, the group plan from the contractor goes away, and shopping the Ohio marketplace turns up a surprise.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Ohio. You won't get it from HealthCare.gov, but you can get it through me.
Here's the marketplace picture for 2026: 189 individual medical plans for Ohio, 11 insurers, all 88 counties, and every plan an HMO. With an HMO, care outside the network is generally not covered unless it's an emergency. A PPO keeps paying when you go out of network, at a higher cost, and you don't need a referral to see a specialist. Dental PPOs are listed too; on the medical side, there are none.
Private plans with medical underwriting sit on PPO networks with doctors nationwide and are priced by your health. If you're healthy, those plans are the ones worth pricing next to an Ohio HMO.
Because Ohio expanded Medicaid, your household income for the year can point you to one of three places. Up to 138% of the federal poverty level, Medicaid. Above that, a HealthCare.gov HMO with a premium tax credit. Higher still, the credit ends and you pay full price, which is where a nationwide PPO starts to look good. For an electrician on your own, income means net, after the van, wire and devices, tools, the license, insurance and fuel.
If the contractor you worked for let you go and you'd been on their insured group plan for at least three months, Ohio law can let you keep that plan for up to 12 months, as long as the discharge wasn't for gross misconduct and you aren't eligible for Medicare or another group plan. It isn't automatic and it isn't free, but it can bridge you while the new business gets going.
Losing job-based coverage also opens a special enrollment window on HealthCare.gov, usually 60 days, so you can compare continuation, an Ohio HMO and an underwritten PPO side by side.
Remember too: workers' comp handles injuries on the job. It isn't a health plan.
Next step: Call me as soon as you know your last day and we'll weigh continuation against your other options before any deadline passes.
Plenty of new shops spend a year building a customer list. If your household's income for the year lands at or under 138% of the poverty level, Ohio's Medicaid expansion means you can qualify, and you can apply in any month.
Keep an eye on the climb. Once the work picks up and your income rises past that line, you'll move over to a marketplace plan, so report the change when it happens.
Next step: If your income looks low right now, call me and we'll sort out whether Medicaid or a HealthCare.gov plan is the right fit today.
Between the Medicaid line and the top of the credit range, a HealthCare.gov HMO is very likely the most affordable thing you can buy in Ohio, because the credit works only on marketplace plans.
The HMO networks are local, so we'll confirm your family's doctors are in before you choose. And watch your estimate: a big commercial job or a storm season full of service calls can lift your income, and an estimate you never update can turn into a repayment when you file.
Next step: Book fifteen minutes with me, have your latest return handy, and we'll land on a believable income figure and the HMO that matches it.
An established electrical contractor usually lands above the credit range. Full price on HealthCare.gov buys an HMO. A healthy family that wants doctors outside one network has a better option.
An underwritten nationwide PPO works off a health questionnaire. The insurer can accept you, decline you, or accept you with a specific condition excluded. When you're healthy, that's how the premium can come in under the marketplace's full price. Benefits differ from plan to plan, so we compare what each pays before you sign.
If anyone in your household has an ongoing condition or a medication they can't miss, that changes the advice: stay on the marketplace, where your health can't be used to refuse you or raise your price, and pick the HMO that keeps your specialists.
Next step: Call me and I'll lay a nationwide PPO quote next to the Ohio marketplace HMOs in your county.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes, outside the marketplace. All 189 individual medical plans on the Ohio marketplace for 2026 are HMOs. If you're healthy, I can price a nationwide PPO for you.
Possibly. Ohio law allows up to 12 months of continuation on an insured group plan for an employee discharged for reasons other than gross misconduct who had at least three months of coverage. Federal COBRA may also apply. Let's compare it to your other options.
That's where Ohio's Medicaid expansion helps. A household whose income sits at or below 138% of the poverty line can get Medicaid here, and the application is open all twelve months.
No. Losing job-based coverage usually gives you 60 days to choose a HealthCare.gov plan, any time of year.
A ballpark for last year's net, your county and the people you want on the plan is plenty. I'll walk you through the option that fits, put a price on it, and tell you honestly if your current coverage is the better deal.
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