Private plans for the self-employed: no-deductible plans from $180 a month at 40 in North Carolina, UnitedHealthcare or PHCS network, who they fit.
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The short answer: a private plan is medically underwritten coverage bought outside the marketplace, any month of the year. For a healthy 1099 worker over the $63,840 line, where no credit applies, no-deductible private plans start at $180 a month at 40 in North Carolina and $350 in Colorado across the 23 priced states, on the UnitedHealthcare PPO network in 21 of them (PHCS in Illinois and South Dakota). The premium for the medical coverage is deductible the same way any health insurance premium is for the self-employed. The trade: set cash benefits for covered care, health questions, and no cover for pre-existing conditions the way a marketplace plan gives it.
Free private price check
ZIP, age, then your income. A licensed agent prices the private plans sold where you live beside the full marketplace price, and says which wins for your health history. Free, and nothing is bought until you say so.
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A sole proprietor, a partner or a more-than-2% S-corporation shareholder deducts health insurance premiums for the household above the line, without itemizing, up to the net profit of the business (Form 7206). That covers the medical coverage in a private plan the same way it covers a marketplace plan bought at full price; any life insurance or income benefit bundled into a package is not deductible, so the premium for the medical part needs to be stated separately. The deduction also lowers adjusted gross income, which is the income the marketplace credit is measured on. It does not reduce self-employment tax. A tax professional owns the return; this page is not tax advice.
Illustration, not advice: a $400-a-month private premium is $4,800 a year; at a 22% federal bracket that is roughly $1,056 less federal income tax, before any state effect.
Pick a state and enter an age: the same estimate the sister sites show after a ZIP, from a licensed agent’s own rate table. Add a spouse and children to see the household figure. The age you enter is carried into the form above so you never type it twice.
No table price for this state yet. A licensed agent prices it from the carrier portal; put a ZIP in the box below.
At 40, healthy, before health questions, with the median marketplace Silver at full price beside it. Where the marketplace figure is the one with a credit applied, it wins; the private column is for the worker over the line.
| State | Private plan at 40, healthy | PPO network | Deductible | Median marketplace Silver at 40, full price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $180 – $390 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $866 |
| Kansas | $205 – $415 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $973 |
| Georgia | $210 – $415 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | — |
| Nevada | $210 – $415 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | — |
| Utah | $210 – $385 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $916 |
| South Dakota | $220 – $425 | PHCS | no deductible | $812 |
| Maryland | $240 – $375 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | — |
| Ohio | $245 – $385 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $692 |
| Indiana | $270 – $350 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $616 |
| Alabama | $300 – $415 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $782 |
| Arkansas | $300 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $780 |
| Michigan | $300 – $415 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $774 |
| Mississippi | $300 – $435 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $851 |
| Nebraska | $300 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $991 |
| Oklahoma | $300 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $775 |
| South Carolina | $300 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $767 |
| Tennessee | $300 – $425 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $902 |
| Virginia | $300 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | — |
| Wisconsin | $300 – $440 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $801 |
| Florida | $310 – $450 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $848 |
| Texas | $320 – $420 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible | $909 |
| Illinois | $335 – $440 | PHCS | no deductible | — |
| Colorado | $350 – $445 | UnitedHealthcare | no deductible for day-to-day care | — |
Private plans are medically underwritten: your health history decides whether you qualify and the final price, and some applicants pay more or are declined. They are not ACA marketplace plans, they do not cover pre-existing conditions the way a marketplace plan does, and no premium tax credit applies. If you are not in good health, the marketplace is usually the better route. Not in the table: Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, West Virginia, Wyoming. A licensed agent prices those from the carrier portal.
No, yes, yes is the textbook candidate: the consultant having a good year, the owner-operator, the healthy contractor who missed Open Enrollment.
The long version, with the junk to avoid: the private insurance guide on Coverage by County; Blue plan or private, state by state: Plans By State.
Yes, for the medical coverage in the plan. The self-employed health insurance deduction (Form 7206, carried to Schedule 1) covers premiums for medical care for you, a spouse and dependents, up to the net profit of the business, in months with no employer plan available through a job or a spouse’s job. Any life insurance or income benefit bundled into a package is not deductible. An S-corp owner takes it only if the corporation pays the premium and adds it to Box 1 of the W-2. A tax professional owns the return.
No. It is medically underwritten coverage sold outside the marketplace: it pays set cash benefits for covered care, gives access to a national PPO network (UnitedHealthcare in 21 of the 23 priced states, PHCS in Illinois and South Dakota), is not minimum essential coverage, can exclude pre-existing conditions and benefits such as maternity, substance-use treatment and mental health, and no premium tax credit applies.
Anyone who qualifies for a meaningful premium tax credit: discounted marketplace dollars beat everything. Anyone with ongoing treatment, a recent major diagnosis, expensive medications or a pregnancy: guaranteed issue is worth more than any premium saving. Anyone who needs maternity, substance-use or mental-health benefits covered.
Year-round. There is no November window; coverage usually starts within days of approval.
Nothing changes on the marketplace side: it must still take you at the next Open Enrollment (it opens November 1 each year) or after a qualifying life event. A licensed agent says which route is cheaper before anything is paid, and if the private plan is not a fit you are told so.
The plan premium plus the association membership where one applies, at the age shown, sexes averaged, no children. A spouse and children change it; the estimate box above adds them. It is the price for a healthy applicant before health questions, not a quote.
Price a private plan for my ZIPBack to the ZIP box near the top of this page.