Whether you're installing solar systems through an agency, working on a 1099 or managing your own installation crew, I can still help you get a nationwide PPO in Florida. Here's how installers are finding affordable coverage they can keep as their work changes.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm based in Tampa and specialize in health insurance, with licenses across 36 states. We can handle everything by phone, so whether you're taking a break from a rooftop installation or sitting at your kitchen table, I can help you sort out your coverage.
Florida earns its Sunshine State nickname, and all that sunshine means plenty of work for solar installers. Crews put rooftop panels on houses, build arrays for commercial properties and farms, install batteries and backup systems, and handle repairs following storm season. The work arrangements can change just as often. You might start with an agency, move into 1099 jobs for a smaller installer and eventually build your own crew. Insurance connected to one particular job arrangement may end when that work ends. That's why Florida solar workers need to think about coverage they can maintain through those changes.
A nationwide PPO is still available to you in Florida, even when the prices on HealthCare.gov make PPO coverage seem out of reach. If you're healthy, you may find the cost more manageable than expected.
Florida's marketplace has only one PPO insurer, offering a single PPO across every county. That PPO costs more than the lower-priced network options throughout the state. The differences are especially large around Lake Okeechobee and southern inland Florida: 144% higher in Okeechobee County, 138% in Highlands, 123% in DeSoto and 70% in Hendry.
Private plans with medical underwriting work differently from marketplace coverage. They use nationwide PPO provider networks, and your health helps determine the premium rather than the marketplace's filed rates. That's particularly useful to compare when your installation work could take you beyond Florida.
Florida residents purchase marketplace insurance through HealthCare.gov, where qualifying households can receive premium tax credits. Eligibility depends on household income for the coverage year. If an agency pays you on a W-2, wages generally make up most of that income. If you're paid on a 1099 or own the installation business, the calculation uses net earnings after expenses such as tools, safety harnesses, truck payments, fuel, insurance and other business costs.
That income threshold is especially important this year. Florida's insurance regulator reported that approved individual-market rates for 2026 increased an average of 34.1%, weighted by enrollment and measured before tax credits. Qualifying households can have much of that increase offset by their credits. Those earning above the eligibility range must pay the full increase themselves.
Health coverage supplied by an agency or employer usually ends when your placement finishes. Losing that insurance is a qualifying event, generally giving you 60 days after coverage ends to enroll through HealthCare.gov, even outside the regular enrollment season. Don't spend that entire period looking for another assignment and miss your chance to enroll.
Be careful with COBRA, too. If you voluntarily cancel it before your eligibility runs out, that generally won't create another enrollment opportunity. Reaching the end of COBRA coverage does. For longer-term stability, consider insurance you purchase yourself, so changing assignments or having time between jobs doesn't mean starting over with coverage.
Next step: As soon as you learn that your current insurance will end, give me a call. I'll help you arrange replacement coverage while your enrollment opportunity is still open.
This is where a lot of solar installers fall. If your household qualifies for a premium tax credit, HealthCare.gov will probably offer your lowest-cost coverage because plans purchased outside the marketplace cannot use that credit.
Across most Florida counties, the lower-premium marketplace choices are HMOs and EPOs that rely on local or regional medical networks. If your family generally receives care near home, one of those plans may work well. Before choosing, we'll verify that your preferred doctors and hospitals participate.
Keep an eye on the income you estimate, too. A surge in installation jobs or an increase in pay could leave you earning more than you originally reported. If you don't update that figure, you may owe the difference when you file your taxes. Low income presents another problem in Florida. The state hasn't expanded Medicaid, so adults earning almost nothing generally won't qualify for it, while marketplace premium credits usually begin at the poverty level. You could fall between those programs and receive neither.
Next step: Share your latest pay statements or your previous year's tax return. I'll help you develop a realistic household income estimate and choose coverage that makes sense for those numbers.
When your installation business earns enough to put the household above the tax-credit range, you're responsible for HealthCare.gov's entire premium, including this year's increase. Its only PPO is also substantially more expensive than the local-network alternatives.
If everyone in your household is healthy, I'd compare a medically underwritten nationwide PPO. Each applicant answers health questions, which the insurer uses to decide whether to accept coverage, deny it or approve it while excluding a specific medical condition. Because these plans serve healthy applicants, their premiums can be lower than the marketplace's unsubsidized prices. Coverage varies between policies, so we'll review the benefits together before you decide. Hiring an employee who isn't an owner or relative could also make the marketplace's small-business coverage available.
Because your crew spends its days working on hot rooftops, remember that workers' compensation covers job-related injuries. It isn't a substitute for health insurance and won't cover ordinary illnesses or medical care for your family.
Next step: Give me a call and I'll put together a nationwide PPO quote, then compare it with the HealthCare.gov coverage choices offered where you live in Florida.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
You generally have 60 days after your agency insurance ends to enroll in a HealthCare.gov plan. That deadline keeps approaching even if you're still waiting for your next placement, so don't delay.
Yes, you can. HealthCare.gov offers only one PPO in Florida, from a single insurer, and it costs more than the lowest-priced plan in every county. Healthy solar installers may find better pricing through a privately purchased nationwide PPO outside the marketplace.
You can purchase individual coverage through HealthCare.gov, just as other self-employed workers do. If you're healthy and earn too much for tax credits, you can also consider a privately underwritten health insurance plan.
You might not qualify. Florida hasn't expanded Medicaid, and marketplace tax credits generally become available at the poverty line. Very low household income can therefore leave you without either option. Call me before submitting your application.
First, I'll ask whether you're with an agency, working on a 1099 or running your own crew. I'll also need your county and the people you want insured. With that information, I'll compare pricing and recommend what fits. If your existing coverage is already a good choice, I'll tell you that too.
The guide for every state, and other work I help with