I can help you get a nationwide PPO in Wisconsin, including through private coverage. Brown County also happens to be one of the few areas where a marketplace PPO is priced close to an EPO. Let's look at how that difference helps Green Bay business owners decide.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm licensed to broker health insurance in 36 states, and I help Wisconsin business owners sort out their household coverage over the phone.
Think about a husband and wife in De Pere who operate a cheese and specialty-food shop. They also wholesale products to restaurants around Green Bay and throughout Door County. Summer tourism and holiday sales account for much of their business. Until now, one spouse kept a job at a local paper company, which supplied health insurance for the household. But the wholesale operation has grown to require both owners full time. Their family of four now needs to purchase insurance through HealthCare.gov for the first time.
Brown County offers 57 individual medical plans in 2026, including 31 HMOs, 18 EPOs and 8 PPOs. Marketplace PPO availability is unusual in Wisconsin, with PPO plans offered in only 15 of its 72 counties. Brown County also has a relatively small price difference. For an unsubsidized 40-year-old comparing silver plans, the least expensive PPO is only 4% higher than the lowest-priced EPO.
I can also help your household apply for a private nationwide PPO in Wisconsin. Pricing depends on the health of each person applying, and the provider network extends well beyond the Fox Valley, including places your family might visit while traveling.
Wisconsin gives people fairly broad rights to continue employer coverage. Its continuation law applies to insured group health plans regardless of employer size and can keep coverage going for up to 18 months. Self-funded employer plans aren't included. That continuation period may help while your business becomes established. Losing employer insurance also creates a special marketplace enrollment opportunity, so I'd compare both choices before moving forward.
You can use the premium tax credit only through HealthCare.gov. Since the credit calculation follows a benchmark silver plan, the additional 4% for a PPO is something the family pays. That can be worthwhile for the extra network flexibility. EPOs generally don't cover treatment outside their networks unless it's an emergency, while PPOs contribute toward that care, though you pay more yourself. For families visiting relatives or taking children to tournaments around the Midwest, Brown County's marketplace PPO with a tax credit can be an appealing choice.
Next step: Share your previous tax return and your family's doctors. I'll compare Brown County PPO and EPO prices after applying your credit.
Once household income exceeds the credit threshold, you're responsible for each person's full premium. At that point, compare the marketplace PPO with a private nationwide PPO. Private insurers require health information from every applicant and may approve coverage, approve it with a particular condition excluded or decline the application. Healthy households can frequently find premiums below the marketplace's unsubsidized rates. We'll examine the benefits of each plan individually.
Next step: Give me a call and I'll compare a nationwide PPO quote for your family with the full-price marketplace options available in Brown County.
If your shop hires an employee who isn't an owner or family member, it may qualify to offer group coverage through SHOP, the marketplace for small businesses. Whether that's preferable to individual family coverage depends on the employee involved and what the business can afford.
Next step: Get in touch before your new employee starts working. We'll compare the cost and benefits of group insurance with the coverage your household currently carries.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. Brown County offers eight marketplace PPO plans, and its lowest-priced silver PPO costs only 4% more than the least expensive silver EPO.
You may qualify. Wisconsin allows continuation of insured employer group coverage for up to 18 months, regardless of company size. Self-funded employer plans are excluded from that protection.
Yes. Wisconsin operates the Wisconsin Healthcare Stability Plan, a reinsurance program established in 2019 and extended through 2028.
Yes. I can help healthy business owners and their families purchase private nationwide PPO coverage.
Tell me your county, the ages of everyone needing coverage, an estimate of the business's net earnings and whether either adult has access to group insurance through a job. I'll compare marketplace PPO pricing with a private PPO quote and tell you which I would recommend.
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