You can still get a nationwide PPO in West Virginia. For a Morgantown electrician laid off from a small shop, the first decision is between keeping the old group plan and moving to the marketplace. Here's how that goes.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. Health insurance is my only line of work. I'm a broker in Tampa with a West Virginia license, and every client I have in the state works with me by phone.
Here's the situation I'm thinking about. An electrician in Morgantown spent nine years with a contractor that had about a dozen people. The shop wired apartment buildings for the student market, did service work in Star City and Westover, and took commercial jobs up I-79 toward Fairmont. When a big project fell through this fall, the owner laid off half the crew, him included. He has his license, he's already getting calls from old customers, and he's going to work for himself. His wife and their two boys were on the shop's group plan, and the termination letter mentioned continuation.
Let me say it up front: you can still get a nationwide PPO in West Virginia, and I can quote one for a Morgantown family.
The marketplace in Monongalia County has 37 medical plans for 2026, 15 PPOs and 22 HMOs, from 2 insurance companies. For a 40-year-old on silver before any credit, the least expensive PPO actually costs 3.5% less than the least expensive HMO. So if you end up on the marketplace, a PPO doesn't cost you extra. A nationwide PPO, bought privately after a health review, is the option for a healthy family whose income is too high for the credit.
Because the shop had fewer than 20 employees, federal COBRA doesn't apply, but West Virginia's continuation rule does. After an involuntary layoff that isn't for misconduct, you can elect to keep the same group plan for up to 18 months. Ask the shop what the monthly cost would be; it's the number we need.
The second door is the marketplace. Losing the group plan gives you a Special Enrollment Period, usable in the 60 days before the coverage ends and the 60 days after. The third is a private nationwide PPO, which you can apply for at any time but which asks about your health.
For most electricians starting out, the household's income falls during the first year, and that's when the marketplace usually wins, because the credit only works there and continuation coverage gets no credit. Estimate your net self-employment income honestly, after the truck, tools, wire, licensing and liability insurance, and change it as work comes in. With the least expensive silver PPO priced under every silver HMO in Monongalia County, it's the natural plan to start from, once we confirm your pediatrician and family doctor are in its network.
Next step: Send me the date the shop's coverage ends and your best guess at this year's net, and I'll price Monongalia County's plans with your credit.
If your wife is partway through a course of care with a doctor she trusts, continuation can be the steadier bridge. You keep the same plan and the same network for up to 18 months. It can cost more than a credit-reduced marketplace plan, so we'd compare both. When the 18 months end, the marketplace is still there, and it can't turn anyone away or charge more for health.
Next step: Get me the continuation price from the shop and the names of the doctors you're seeing, and I'll show you both paths side by side.
Some electricians are busier than ever within a few months. If the household's income clears the credit range, every Monongalia County plan is at full price, and a medically underwritten nationwide PPO should be quoted. Each person fills out health questions; the insurer accepts, accepts with one prior condition excluded, or declines. A healthy family often comes in under the marketplace's full price. Raise your marketplace estimate as soon as you see this coming, so you aren't paying back credit at tax time.
Next step: Call me with everyone's birth year and your doctors, and I'll quote a nationwide PPO against Monongalia County's full prices.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. If you're laid off from an employer with fewer than 20 employees, you can elect continuation for up to 18 months.
60 days before the coverage ends and 60 days after.
No. The least expensive silver PPO costs 3.5% less than the least expensive silver HMO for a 40-year-old in 2026.
No. The credit only applies to plans bought through HealthCare.gov.
Tell me the date the shop's coverage ends, what continuation would cost you, who's on the plan and what you expect to clear on your own. I'll lay the three paths side by side and tell you which I'd take.
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