You can still get a nationwide PPO in Alabama through me, and in Tuscaloosa the marketplace PPO is priced near its EPOs. Here is how investors who rent to students line up coverage with the year they're having.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a health insurance broker in Tampa with licenses in 36 states, and I help landlords and investors, Alabama included, buy their own coverage by phone.
Think about an investor in Northport who owns nine houses and a small fourplex near the University of Alabama campus, all leased to students. Leases turn over every August, parents co-sign, and the summer is a scramble of repairs, painting and new carpet. Rent is steady during the school year. Two of the houses have gone up a lot in value, and he's considering selling one to a buyer who wants a game-day house. His health coverage comes from HealthCare.gov, and Tuscaloosa County's menu is small but has a pleasant surprise.
Tuscaloosa County has 25 individual medical plans for 2026 from two insurers: 15 EPOs and 10 PPOs. The PPO costs almost the same as the EPOs: for a 40-year-old with no subsidy, the least expensive silver PPO is only 3% more than the least expensive silver EPO.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Alabama through me as well. It's a private, medically underwritten plan whose network reaches the beach condo, family in Atlanta and any property you scout out of state. Both are worth pricing, and which one wins depends on the year.
HealthCare.gov counts net rental income: rent less mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, the summer turnover work, management and depreciation, plus whatever else the household earns. Premium help is available until income passes four times the federal poverty level.
A sale changes the math. The credit is based on modified adjusted gross income, and the gain from selling a house generally shows up in it for that year. At the other extreme, a summer of heavy repairs plus depreciation can shrink income on paper, and in Alabama, which hasn't expanded Medicaid, adults without children have no income-based Medicaid path while the credit generally starts at 100% of the poverty line. Plan around the year that's coming.
HealthCare.gov is the only place the credit works. Because the credit is pinned to a benchmark silver plan, a pricier plan costs you the difference, but in Tuscaloosa that difference for the PPO is about 3%. An EPO generally pays outside its network only for emergencies, while the PPO still helps with out-of-network visits. For most investors in the credit range, the marketplace PPO is the better value here, and I'll tell you if it is for you.
Next step: Share your doctors and a copy of last year's Schedule E, and you'll see the Tuscaloosa PPO and EPOs priced after the credit.
A sale can lift one year well past the credit line. If you've been getting the credit in advance and the gain pushes income higher, the excess gets settled when you file, and from tax year 2026 on, repayment has no cap. Decide on coverage before the house is listed.
At full price, line up the marketplace PPO against a private nationwide PPO. The private plan's insurer reviews your medical answers and accepts you, accepts you minus one condition, or declines. In good health, many investors pay below the marketplace's full rate. We compare the benefits before you sign.
Next step: Phone me before the sign goes in the yard, and we'll set a nationwide PPO quote against the full-price Tuscaloosa PPO for that year.
Stay with HealthCare.gov at full price. Nobody can be refused there, and a diagnosis can't raise your premium. With two insurers in the county and the PPO priced near the EPOs, the choice usually comes down to which network keeps your specialists.
Next step: Share your doctors and prescriptions, and I'll tell you which Tuscaloosa plans cover them.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes, ten. The least expensive silver PPO costs 3% more than the least expensive silver EPO.
It does. Your net rent, after expenses, is part of household income.
It can. A gain from the sale generally raises the income the credit is based on for that year.
Yes. If your health is good, I can place you in one privately.
Tell me your county, who you need to cover, how last year's Schedule E looked and whether you plan to sell. You'll get the right plan for that year, with prices.
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