Florida · insurance alternatives
Affordable Health Insurance Alternatives in Florida
Florida individual-plan prices rose about 31.5% for 2026, insurers filed for about 15% more for 2027, and the extra tax credits are gone. If you buy your own plan, here's an honest look at the alternatives: direct primary care, health care sharing and dental savings plans, with real prices and real limits.
- Free, no obligation
- Not an insurance agency
- Honest about the limits
Thanks, we've got it.
We'll look at direct primary care options in your area and contact you with your estimate.
Prefer to talk now? Call (727) 761-1715Paying too much for your own health plan?
If you get health coverage through a big employer, the state or the military, this site probably isn't for you. It's for the Floridians who buy their own: the self-employed, gig and hospitality workers, contractors, people between jobs, and early retirees who aren't 65 yet.
That group has had a rough two years. The extra federal tax credits that kept Marketplace plans affordable ended after 2025. Florida's individual-plan prices rose about 31.5% on average for 2026, and Marketplace sign-ups fell for the first time since 2018, from about 4.74 million to 4.54 million people (source). About 442,785 Floridians who had a plan in 2025 went without one in 2026, the biggest drop of any state (source). For 2027, insurers filed for increases averaging about 15% (source).
There are alternatives. They aren't insurance, they don't suit everyone, and we'll say so plainly. For a healthy household that pays the full price, though, they can cost a lot less each month.
Illustrative example · October 2026
Single adult, age 35
$226.86 /month
Member only, oldest member 30–39, $1,000 Initial Unshareable Amount per Need, non-tobacco. Combined medical cost sharing + virtual primary care membership. Optional dental savings plan from $8.95/month. Not a quote; your amount depends on your household.
How it works
Three pieces, each with one job
Health sharing is built for big, unexpected medical bills, and it deliberately leaves out everyday care. Direct primary care is built for everyday care. A dental savings plan handles teeth. Put together, they handle most of what a household uses, but not everything.
Direct primary care
A flat monthly membership for a primary care team: sick visits, checkups, questions and follow-ups, without a copay each time.
Health care sharing
Members share eligible large medical bills (ER, surgery, hospital stays) after you pay your Initial Unshareable Amount for that Need. Not insurance, and not guaranteed.
Dental savings plan
An optional discount plan for reduced fees at participating dentists. Health sharing doesn't share routine dental costs.
1. Everyday care
A primary care membership gives you a doctor's team by video or phone for sick visits, questions, refills and follow-ups. Your monthly fee includes the visits, so there's no copay.
2. A big medical bill
For an ER visit, surgery or hospital stay, you pay up to your Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) for that Need. You then submit the bills, and other members can share the eligible costs above it. There's no provider network.
3. What's left out
Routine dental, glasses, most ongoing prescriptions and regular therapy aren't shared. Pre-existing conditions are phased in over three years. We go through all of it before you decide.
How health sharing works in Florida → · Direct primary care in Florida →
Who we help
Self-employed
Contractors, trades, real-estate agents and owner-operators who pay for everything themselves.
Self-employed guide →Gig & hospitality workers
Tips, shifts and seasons: income that changes every month, and often no plan from work.
Gig & hospitality guide →Early retirees
Retired to Florida before 65 and bridging the expensive years to Medicare.
Early retiree guide →The honest part: when insurance is the better choice
We don't sell insurance, so we have no reason to talk anyone out of it, or into it. Here's when a Marketplace plan through HealthCare.gov, or Florida Medicaid, is usually the better answer:
- Your tax credit is large. At lower and middle incomes, a subsidized Marketplace plan can cost less than any alternative. Check at HealthCare.gov.
- You may qualify for Medicaid or KidCare. Florida didn't expand Medicaid, so most adults without children don't qualify, but children, pregnant women and some parents and disabled adults do. Check before paying for anything.
- Someone has a serious ongoing condition. Health sharing shares nothing for pre-existing conditions in year one. Insurance must cover them.
- A baby is on the way, or planned. Maternity is shareable only when the due date is at least nine months after you join.
- You need regular therapy. Counseling is capped at $750 a year.
- You want a guarantee. Sharing is voluntary. If you need a contract that has to pay, buy insurance.
If any of these fit, we'll tell you and point you to HealthCare.gov or a licensed agent. The comparison is still free.
What it costs
Real monthly prices for the pairing we most often recommend, as of October 2026. The amount depends on household size, the oldest member's age and the IUA you choose, not your income.
| Household (oldest member) | $2,500 IUA | $1,000 IUA |
|---|---|---|
| Single, under 30 | $167.52 | $205.36 |
| Single, 40–49 | $196.76 | $242.34 |
| Couple, 50–59 | $596.56 | $726.42 |
| Family, 30–39 | $633.60 | $784.96 |
Combined medical cost sharing + virtual primary care membership, non-tobacco. Optional dental savings plan from $8.95/month. Examples only, not quotes. Full table and how to choose an IUA →
Where we help in Florida
We work with households statewide by phone and video, from Pensacola to Key West. Each regional guide lists its cities, the main hospitals and what's different about getting care there.
Outline simplified. Tap a region's city to open its guide.
Tampa Bay
Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo, Palm Harbor and Dunedin, Brandon and Riverview, Wesley Chapel and New Port Richey, Lakeland
Central Florida
Orlando, Kissimmee, Sanford and Lake Mary, Clermont, The Villages, Ocala
South Florida
Miami, Hialeah and Homestead, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pembroke Pines, Weston, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach
Southwest Florida
Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice and North Port, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples
Northeast Florida
Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beaches, Orange Park, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Gainesville
North Florida & the Panhandle
Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Panama City, Tallahassee, Small towns of the Big Bend
Space Coast & Treasure Coast
Daytona Beach, Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie, Stuart
How a conversation with us works
Tell us about your household
Who needs care, ages, what you pay now and what you want to fix. Keep medical details general.
See the full-year cost
Monthly amounts plus what you'd pay yourself in a bad year, next to what insurance would cost you.
Go through the limits
Pre-existing conditions, maternity, prescriptions and anything else that could matter to you.
Decide in your own time
Read the written guidelines before you join anything. No pressure and no cost.
Common questions
Is this health insurance?
No. Direct primary care, health care sharing and discount plans are alternatives to insurance. Health sharing is voluntary and not guaranteed, and it isn't Minimum Essential Coverage. Florida has no state penalty for going without insurance.
How much does it cost in Florida?
As of October 2026, the pairing we most often recommend (medical cost sharing plus virtual primary care) starts at $167.52 a month for a single adult under 30 and is $844.30 a month for a family whose oldest member is 50 to 59, at a $2,500 Initial Unshareable Amount. See the full price table.
What about pre-existing conditions?
Nobody is turned away for their health, but conditions you've had in the 36 months before joining are phased in: nothing shared in year one, up to $25,000 in year two, up to $50,000 in year three, then fully shareable. If you need an ongoing condition paid for now, an ACA plan is usually the better choice.
Who should stay on insurance?
People with a tax credit that makes an ACA plan cheap, anyone with a serious ongoing condition, anyone planning a pregnancy in the next nine months, and anyone who needs regular therapy. We'll tell you if that's you.
When can I start?
Health sharing has no open-enrollment window, so you can start on the first of any month. Marketplace open enrollment for 2027 plans opens November 1, 2026; enroll by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1.
Who will I talk to?
A real advisor who explains the options by phone. We don't sell insurance, and there's no cost to talk.
Sources
- Florida Marketplace guide: 2026 and proposed 2027 rates, enrollment, insurers leaving (healthinsurance.org, updated Aug 3, 2026)
- Up, up and away: are double-digit health insurance rate increases ahead? (WLRN / Florida Phoenix, Sep 11, 2026)
- 2027 rate filings, Florida individual market (ACASignups.net, updated Sep 24, 2026)
- Marketplace deadlines for 2027 coverage (HealthCare Insider, updated Sep 10, 2026)
- Florida Statutes § 624.1265, nonprofit religious organization (health care sharing) exemption
- Florida Statutes § 624.27, direct health care agreements
- Sedera + Akos MD combined monthly price schedule, October 2026 (provided by the programs)
Want to see what this would cost your household?
Tell us who needs care and what you pay now. We'll walk you through the options, including when insurance is the better fit.
Free, no obligation. Florida households only.