A nationwide PPO is still something I can help you get in Colorado. For agents selling property in Summit County, commissions often follow the ski season. Let's look at how to arrange coverage when the state marketplace offers HMOs and EPOs but no PPO plans.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber, a licensed health insurance broker. I hold a Colorado license and help real estate agents throughout the state choose and arrange their coverage by phone.
Imagine a real estate agent based in Frisco who handles listings throughout Summit County. Her properties might include ski-in condos around Breckenridge, aging A-frame cabins by Dillon Reservoir, or a Silverthorne townhome for buyers relocating from Denver. The money doesn't arrive evenly throughout the year. Winter produces sales to people who discovered the area on ski vacations, while summer attracts second-home buyers. During mud season, she might go several weeks without a closing. Since her brokerage doesn't provide a health plan, she shops for her own insurance through Connect for Health Colorado. Her regular physician practices in Frisco, but more involved medical care generally requires traveling along I-70 to Denver.
Yes, nationwide PPO coverage can be available even if you live in a Colorado ski community. I'm talking about private insurance purchased outside Connect for Health Colorado. The insurer reviews your health before setting the premium, and the network can include specialists in Denver, hospitals along the Front Range, and physicians in another state where your family lives.
That broader network matters because Colorado's marketplace offered no PPO coverage. During 2026, all individual medical plans were either HMOs or EPOs. There were 116 HMO options and 36 EPO options statewide, with no marketplace PPO in any county. Summit County residents could choose plans from 3 insurance companies.
Your premium depends heavily on two things: your address and your household income. Let's begin with location. Summit County falls within Colorado's Rating Area 9, a western non-metro territory covering much of the state's ski and river country. According to the Colorado Division of Insurance, final 2027 premiums increase an average of 10% statewide, compared with 11.8% in that particular region. Colorado deliberately directs its reinsurance program toward expensive rural and mountain markets. The Division estimates that this program reduces 2027 premiums in those areas by 31.5%. That's meaningful assistance, although insurance in mountain communities can still carry a high price.
The other part of the equation is what your household actually earns. For a real estate agent, start with commissions after brokerage splits, then account for professional dues, MLS and lockbox charges, staging, photography, and the mileage spent driving through mountain passes. Federal premium credits generally apply to household incomes between 100% and 400% of the poverty level. Colorado provides additional state assistance on top of that federal help.
If your household income qualifies for premium credits, buying through Connect for Health Colorado is generally the most economical route. Your federal credit reduces the premium first. Eligible residents then receive additional state-funded help through Colorado Premium Assistance. That assistance is applied directly to the monthly premium, so you don't need another enrollment process. It also isn't included in your income estimate or reported on your tax return. The Colorado Division of Insurance says the program continues into 2027.
I'd start by checking provider networks, then compare the premiums. HMOs generally don't cover nonemergency treatment outside their networks, and EPOs similarly limit coverage to participating doctors and hospitals except for emergencies. For a Summit County agent, the important question is whether a particular insurer includes your physician in Frisco and the specialists you might need in Denver.
Next step: Give me a list of your doctors, including any specialists you visit in Denver, along with a realistic estimate of this year's net commissions. I'll compare Summit County premiums after both forms of assistance are applied.
A busy winter selling season can make your original income projection obsolete. Federal guidance tells self-employed people to revise their estimates when it becomes clear that annual earnings will be higher or lower than expected. That's especially important under the current repayment rules. For tax years after 2025, the IRS places no ceiling on repayment of federal premium credits received beyond your actual eligibility. The excess can reduce your refund or increase the taxes you owe, so don't wait to correct your estimate.
The state assistance follows a different rule. According to Connect for Health Colorado, if your income changes and you no longer qualify for Colorado Premium Assistance, you don't have to repay the state premium savings you already received. Federal credits are handled differently, so those are the amounts you need to monitor carefully.
Next step: After your first strong stretch of winter closings, give me a call so we can update the income estimate before the difference gets bigger.
Once your household income passes four times the poverty level, federal premium credits end. That leaves you paying the entire mountain-area premium for marketplace HMO or EPO coverage. If you're healthy, compare that amount with a private nationwide PPO. The insurer asks about your medical history and may approve the application as submitted, offer coverage excluding one stated condition, or decline it. Healthy agents often find private premiums below the full marketplace price. We'll also compare the benefits and what each policy pays before you make your choice.
Next step: When most of your expected closings for the year are reasonably clear, call me. I'll compare a private nationwide PPO quote against the full marketplace premiums offered in Summit County.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
No, not for individual medical coverage in 2026. Every plan sold through Connect for Health Colorado used either an HMO or an EPO network, regardless of county.
Colorado's Division of Insurance approved an average statewide premium increase of 10%. In Rating Area 9, the region containing Summit County, the average increase is 11.8%.
No, according to Connect for Health Colorado. If higher income makes you ineligible, you don't repay the state assistance already received. Federal premium credits work differently and are reconciled when you file taxes.
Yes, provided your health qualifies you for private coverage. I can help arrange a nationwide PPO with access to providers in Summit County, Denver, and other states.
Tell me which Colorado town you live in, who needs to be insured, and approximately what your commissions will be after splits this year. I'll compare Connect for Health Colorado plans with available federal and state assistance, then show you a private nationwide PPO quote alongside them.
The guide for every state, and other work I help with