Home › Blog › How Ohio Realtors Should Compare Health Insurance Plans
How Ohio Realtors Should Compare Health Insurance Plans
Agents compare premiums and stop. Here's the order that actually protects you.
1. Out-of-pocket maximum
The most you can spend in a year on covered care. This is the number that matters in a bad year. Marketplace plans in Ohio cap around $9,200 individual; private PPOs commonly $6,000–$9,000.
2. Network — and where it works
Is your doctor in it? Is the hospital you'd actually go to in Franklin County in it? Does it work in another state? HMO vs. PPO decides this. Cigna, Aetna and PHCS PPO PPOs are national.
3. Deductible
How much you pay before the plan pays. Healthy agents usually do best with a mid-range deductible and lower premium, plus an HSA.
4. Premium
Only now. And compare net of subsidy if you qualify, net of the self-employed deduction either way. Ohio has a state income tax and many cities add their own, so the self-employed health premium deduction helps at the federal and local level.
5. Enrollment flexibility
Marketplace: once a year. Private: any month. If your income is volatile, flexibility has value.
Ohio's three big metros each have their own dominant health systems, so people who live in one city and work or travel in another often need a network that crosses them.
Our quoting tool shows every private plan in Ohio with deductible and out-of-pocket max side by side. Or check your options and we'll compare both markets for you.