A nationwide PPO is still available in Delaware. If you're a Dover electrician leaving a smaller contractor to open your own shop, first figure out how you'll replace the group coverage you're losing. I'll walk you through the choices.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm licensed to broker health insurance in Delaware. It's the only insurance I handle, and we can take care of everything by phone.
Imagine you've worked eight years for a Dover electrical contractor with roughly fifteen employees. Your days have involved wiring houses around Camden, Magnolia and Smyrna, servicing businesses along Route 13, and handling electrical work in agricultural buildings near Harrington. You've earned your master license, built relationships with customers, and plan to open your own shop after the holidays. Your wife and young son are insured through your employer. Before you leave, the owner gives you paperwork explaining how to keep that group coverage. Now you have to decide whether keeping it makes financial sense.
The important starting point is that Delaware does have nationwide PPO coverage available, and I can get your Dover family a quote.
For 2026, Kent County's marketplace lists 40 medical plans across 3 insurers: 17 EPOs, 15 PPOs and 8 HMOs. The PPO choices are toward the expensive end of silver coverage. Before credits, a 40-year-old would pay 17.5% more for the lowest-priced PPO than for the lowest-priced EPO. EPOs generally cover only in-network treatment, except emergencies. If your family's doctors are all in Dover and participate in the network, that limitation may be perfectly workable.
With fewer than 20 employees at the shop, Delaware's state continuation rules apply instead of federal COBRA. You can remain on that employer plan for up to 9 months, provided you enroll within 30 days of receiving the notice. Ask the owner to put the monthly continuation premium in writing. We'll use that amount as our baseline when comparing alternatives.
Your next option is marketplace insurance. Losing employer coverage gives you a Special Enrollment Period extending 60 days before termination and 60 days afterward. You can also apply for a privately purchased nationwide PPO at any time, although that application involves medical questions for everyone seeking coverage.
The first several months of running an electrical business often produce less profit than your old paycheck. During that period, HealthCare.gov may offer better value because premium credits apply there, not to continuation insurance. Calculate projected profit after expenses for the van, tools, wiring materials, license, bond and liability coverage. Increase your estimate when business improves. If the Dover family doctor and your son's pediatrician participate in an affordable EPO or HMO, I'd generally favor that over spending 17.5% extra for a PPO.
Next step: Give me your employer plan's termination date and your projected net income for the year. I'll show you Kent County marketplace premiums after your tax credit.
When your wife is receiving ongoing treatment from doctors she knows, preserving the employer plan for up to 9 months can prevent a disruptive network change. That continuity might cost more than subsidized marketplace coverage, so let's compare the premiums before enrolling. Once continuation expires after 9 months, we can revisit both marketplace and private insurance based on her treatment needs.
Next step: Share the continuation premium your employer quoted and the names of her physicians. I'll put both coverage choices and their costs side by side.
It's possible to have electrical jobs lined up through spring before you even print business cards. If that income puts your household above the tax credit limits, Kent County marketplace coverage comes at its full premium. I'd then price a medically underwritten nationwide PPO. Each family member answers medical questions, after which the insurer may approve, decline or approve with an earlier condition excluded. Healthy households often find lower premiums than full-price marketplace coverage. If you've already used a marketplace plan during the year, revise your income projection when business takes off.
Next step: Give me everyone's ages and physician names. I'll show you the nationwide PPO premium alongside the full Kent County marketplace rates.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Delaware allows continuation for up to 9 months when the employer normally employs between 1 and 19 people.
You have 30 days from the date the notice reaches you.
Yes. HealthCare.gov allows enrollment during the 60 days before or after the loss of employer health coverage.
Yes. For a 40-year-old, the lowest-cost PPO premium exceeds the lowest-cost EPO by 17.5% before credits.
Tell me when your shop coverage expires, how much continuation costs, who in your family needs coverage and your estimated net income this year. I'll put the three choices side by side and explain which I'd recommend.
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