You can still get a nationwide PPO in Ohio, even though every marketplace medical plan is an HMO. Here is how investors and property managers are choosing coverage around rents and sales.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a broker in Tampa licensed in 36 states, and I help Ohio landlords, flippers and property managers find coverage by phone.
If you own doubles in Columbus, a few singles in Akron and a short-term rental on Lake Erie, your income shows up as rent, an occasional sale and a lot of deductions. Ohio's marketplace adds its own wrinkle: it sells nothing but HMOs. On the plus side, Ohio expanded Medicaid, which matters in a year when paper income nearly disappears.
Every one of the 189 individual medical plans on HealthCare.gov for Ohio this year is an HMO, so no marketplace PPO exists for you to buy.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Ohio. I place it privately: an underwritten policy priced on your health, with a network that follows you to properties in other states and on long trips. For a healthy investor, it's the comparison that matters.
Household income for the coverage year sets your premium tax credit. HealthCare.gov counts net rental income, plus most IRA and 401(k) withdrawals. Rent and its costs generally go on Schedule E, so repairs, management, interest and depreciation all reduce the number. A sale adds its gain the year it closes.
That income lands you in one of three Ohio bands: Medicaid up to 138% of the federal poverty level, the credit above that, and full price past the credit range. Someone eligible for Medicaid generally can't take the credit, and for tax years after 2025 there's no cap on repaying credit you shouldn't have received.
A closing can push you well past the credit range. Then the marketplace offers only full-price HMOs, and a private nationwide PPO is worth pricing.
The insurer reviews your medical answers and approves the application, declines it, or approves it with a stated exclusion. Healthy applicants often pay under the full marketplace rate. Policies differ in their benefits, and we'll compare them first.
Next step: Call before the sale closes, and I'll quote a nationwide PPO against the Ohio HMOs in your county for that year.
Without a sale, your income may sit in the credit range, and then a marketplace HMO is usually the more economical choice. Confirm your doctors are in each network. If you list and close a property mid-year, report it right away.
Next step: Share your expected rents and any listings, and we'll pick an HMO that fits the year and includes your doctors.
Heavy renovation can leave very little taxable income. In Ohio that's less of a problem than in states without expansion: adults with income up to 138% of the poverty level can qualify for Medicaid. Your tax preparer decides how the year is reported; I'll help you understand what that figure means for coverage.
Next step: Once your preparer has a sense of the year, call me and we'll see whether Medicaid or a marketplace plan fits.
A chronic condition keeps that person on the marketplace even at full price. Marketplace insurers can't refuse anyone or charge more for health history; underwriters can. In Ohio the decision is which HMO network includes your specialists.
Next step: Tell me your doctors and medications, and I'll show which Ohio HMOs in your county cover them.
Investors in Ohio get two things that pull in opposite directions. The marketplace gives you no PPO choice at all, which hurts when your properties or your family are spread out. But the Medicaid expansion means a year with tiny paper income isn't a dead end. The practical approach is to forecast the year with your tax preparer, including any planned sale, report changes as they happen, and then let your health decide whether an Ohio HMO or a nationwide PPO fits better.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. HealthCare.gov counts net rental income, along with sale gains and most retirement-account withdrawals.
No medical PPO is sold there. All 189 individual medical plans are HMOs. A healthy investor can buy a nationwide PPO privately through me.
Ohio expanded Medicaid to adults up to 138% of the poverty level, so you may qualify. Check with me before you enroll.
Ask your tax preparer. The self-employed deduction depends on business profit, and rental income usually goes on Schedule E.
Send your county, last year's Schedule E, any sale you're planning, and who needs coverage. I'll show you which way your year points and the cost of each route.
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