Questions · the whole list
The questions I get asked every week.
All eleven, on one plain page you can read straight down, print or send to somebody. The same eleven are on the front page, in the room the scroll walks you through; if the two ever disagree, this page is the one that's right.
What does this cost me?
Nothing. You don't pay for the call, the comparison or the enrollment. Carriers pay a commission when someone enrolls, and that's built into the premium whether you use an agent or not, so going direct doesn't save you money, it just means nobody's reading the fine print with you.
Am I locked into anything?
No, and there are two halves to that. You and I never sign anything. No fee agreement, no exclusivity, no permission needed to go and use somebody else, and you don't owe me an explanation if you do.
The policy is the other half. Individual health coverage runs month to month rather than on a term, so you can cancel it, normally effective at the end of a month, and there's no cancellation penalty on the plans I write.
The catch is on the way back in, not the way out. Leave an underwritten plan and you answer the health questions again at whatever health you're in by then, which may be a different answer. Leave a Marketplace plan and you're generally waiting for open enrollment or a qualifying life event to get back on one. So it's easy to walk out and it isn't always easy to walk back, and you should know that before you do either.
Will you push me toward a specific plan?
No. And I'll go further: a fair share of my calls end with me telling somebody to stay on their employer plan or stay on the Marketplace, which pays me nothing at all. If I burn twenty minutes and you keep what you've got because it was already the right answer, that's a good outcome.
Are you licensed in my state?
Thirty-one of them, and they're named on the map on the front page rather than left as a number. It isn't a list I'm still filling in: the contracts I hold with my carriers set those thirty-one, and I can't legally write outside them myself. If yours is grey, I may know an agent there who can, and it takes five minutes to ask.
What happens after I enroll?
You keep my number. Claims questions, ID cards, a pre-authorization, a rate change at renewal. That's the actual job. Ask my three-year clients; that's the part they talk about.
What's the real difference between private and Marketplace plans?
Private plans are medically underwritten. You answer health questions and the price reflects your health. Marketplace plans are guaranteed issue and priced on your household income. Private often buys a broader network for less if you're healthy; the Marketplace can be unbeatable if you qualify for a good subsidy or have real health history.
Neither is "better". They're built for different people, which is what the side-by-side sheet is for.
Do I have to be healthy to qualify?
No, and this is the question people get most wrong. Taking medication is not the same as being unhealthy. Blood pressure, cholesterol, something for anxiety or depression that's been working for years: those are ordinary and they're commonly approved. What underwriting reads is the context around them, meaning what the medication is for and whether things are stable.
Serious, active disease is a different conversation and I won't pretend otherwise. Your health is part of the decision, so you can be approved, rated, offered a policy with an exclusion, or declined. I'll tell you straight where I think you'll land before you fill anything in, and if underwriting isn't your lane we'll go straight to the one that is.
I missed open enrollment. Am I stuck?
Often not. Underwritten plans are available most of the year, and a qualifying life event (losing coverage, moving, marriage, a new baby) opens a special enrollment window on the Marketplace. Those windows have deadlines, so it's worth a call sooner rather than later.
Can you cover my employees?
Yes, and for small teams there's usually more than one structure worth looking at. Bring your headcount and what you're hoping to spend and we'll work backwards from there.
What do you do with my details?
I use them to contact you about coverage. I don't sell leads and I don't hand your number to a call center. If you'd rather I stopped, say so and I will. Reply STOP to any text.
How fast will you get back to me?
Usually the same day, often within a couple of hours during the week. If it's urgent, call or text rather than filling in the form. My phone is the fastest route to me.
Still not on the list
Bring it. We'll go through it in the same twenty minutes.
Worst case, you find out you were already on the right plan and you can stop wondering.