You can still get a nationwide PPO in Maryland through me. Here is how owners of seasonal businesses in Ocean City and on the lower Shore cover their families when most of the year's money arrives in about fourteen weeks.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a Tampa-based broker licensed in 36 states. Maryland business owners can work out their family's coverage with me by phone.
Think about a couple who own a boardwalk fries-and-lemonade stand and a small gift shop in Ocean City, organized as an LLC. From Memorial Day to Labor Day they work every day and hire a crew of summer staff. By October the boardwalk is quiet, and by January they're living on what summer left them. They live in Berlin with two kids. There's no group plan, so the family buys coverage on Maryland Health Connection, and the big question each fall is what to estimate for a year whose income hasn't happened yet.
Worcester County families see 32 individual medical plans on Maryland Health Connection for 2026: 28 HMOs and 4 PPOs. Maryland charges the same rates in every one of its rating areas, so the comparison holds statewide. Price the silver tier for a 40-year-old with no subsidy and the most affordable PPO comes in 64% higher than the most affordable HMO. Put it next to the HMO that its own insurer sells, and it's still 48% higher.
Through me, you can still get a nationwide PPO in Maryland, priced person by person on health rather than by that markup, with doctors in network across the country.
Maryland Health Connection sizes your credit to household income for the coverage year. For a seasonal LLC that means the summer's sales minus product, rent on the boardwalk spot, the crew's wages, equipment and everything else, spread over twelve months. Premium help continues up to four times the federal poverty level, and that ceiling is much higher for a family of four than for a single adult.
Two habits keep a seasonal family out of trouble. Estimate from a typical summer, not a record one or a rained-out one. And if August blows past the estimate, update it rather than waiting for April, because for tax years after 2025 there's no cap on repaying excess credit.
Sticker prices rose less here than in many states: KFF puts Maryland's 2026 increase in the benchmark silver premium for a 40-year-old at 13.4%.
Shop on Maryland Health Connection, the only place the credit can be used. The credit is set by a benchmark silver plan and doesn't rise if you choose a pricier one, so for most families the money is in the HMOs. Paying 64% more for the PPO usually only makes sense when a family member's specialist is out of state and in no HMO network.
Next step: Share the names of the family's doctors and a copy of last year's return, and you'll see the Worcester County HMOs that keep them, with your credit applied.
Above the credit range, everyone in the family pays the full sticker. That's when a private plan often comes out ahead for a healthy household. Each person fills out a health questionnaire, and each is approved, approved with one condition carved out, or declined. Benefits differ from plan to plan, and we compare them line by line before you sign.
Next step: Call me and I'll price a nationwide PPO for the whole family beside Maryland Health Connection's full prices.
Keep that family member on Maryland Health Connection, where plans can't refuse anyone or charge more for a diagnosis, and choose the plan that includes their specialists, whether they're in Salisbury or across the bridge. The healthy members of the family may do better on a private plan.
Next step: Tell me who sees which doctors and takes which prescriptions, and I'll compare a split household with everyone on the marketplace.
Fall is a good time to check your coverage, because the season's numbers are in. Maryland's window is November 1 through January 15, and a plan chosen by December 31 begins on January 1. If a private plan is in the running, start early, since approval takes some time.
Next step: Call me in October, once the season's books are closed, and we'll set next year's plan around real numbers.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
The least expensive silver PPO costs 64% more than the least expensive silver HMO, and the gap is the same anywhere in Maryland.
Estimate from a typical full year of net profit, then update it if the season runs well above or below that.
Sign up by December 31. The full window runs from November 1 through January 15.
Yes. If the family is healthy, I can arrange private nationwide PPO coverage for you.
Send the county, each person's age, about what the business cleared last year, and whether anyone in the house has employer coverage available. You'll get both the marketplace and a private plan priced, plus my honest pick.
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