How to Get Health Insurance Without an Employer (2026)
A step-by-step order of operations, cheapest realistic option first.
Work through these in order. Most people find their answer in the first three steps and never need the rest.
1. Check a spouse or partner's plan
Employer coverage is subsidised by the employer, which almost always makes it the cheapest option on the table. Losing your own coverage typically counts as a qualifying event, so you may be able to join outside open enrollment.
2. Check Medicaid
Eligibility depends on income and on whether your state expanded the programme. Self-employed income in a slow year is often lower than people assume. It costs nothing to check.
3. Get your real marketplace price
Go to HealthCare.gov or your state exchange and find out what you would pay after subsidy. Not the sticker price, the subsidised price. This is the number every other option has to beat.
4. Consider a flat-priced group plan
If you are above the subsidy cutoff, or if age rating is inflating your marketplace quote, group plans priced by household rather than age become competitive. They are available outside open enrollment, which matters if you are reading this in April.
5. Check COBRA if you recently left a job
Expensive, but it keeps your exact plan and your exact doctors. Worth it if you are mid-treatment or deep into your deductible for the year.
Whatever you choose, avoid a gap
Coverage generally starts on the 1st of a month, and group plans through Benefit Airship require you to enroll by the 15th to start on the 1st of the next one. Plan the handover so you are never uninsured, even for a week.