Final Verdict
When shopping for health insurance in Florida, you have no shortage of good options. However, the best fit for you is going to depend on your situation. Are you willing to pay a bit more to get comprehensive coverage with all the bells and whistles? BCBS will be the best fit. Or perhaps you qualify for the premium tax credit and can get an otherwise expensive premium reduced to almost $0.
Are you instead looking for a plan that’s ultra-affordable on the front end? A Molina Healthcare bronze plan could be the way to go. But Oscar gives you more bang for your buck with wider coverage and more generous features.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Is Health Insurance in Florida?
In Florida, the cost of health insurance will depend on the provider, plan, and features you choose. Personal details such as your age, health history, and lifestyle will also be factors.
For example, bronze plan premiums averaged about $283 per month for a 25-year-old in Florida, while they rose to about $783 per month for a 60-year-old. Further, silver plan premiums for a 25-year-old Floridian averaged $355 per month, while gold plans averaged $401 per month.
Higher-tier metal plans come with higher costs, and individuals who smoke will pay more. That said, you may be able to significantly reduce your monthly cost if you qualify for a premium tax credit. You can also save by shopping around as costs can vary significantly between providers.
How Do I Get Health Insurance in Florida?
In Florida, you can get health insurance coverage during open enrollment through healthcare.gov. Qualifying events, such as losing coverage or getting married, can also make you eligible to enroll outside of the official open enrollment period. Further, when available, Floridians can get coverage through their employers.
When Is Open Enrollment for Health Insurance?
In most states, open enrollment for 2023 health insurance coverage starts on November 1, 2022, and runs through January 15, 2023. To be eligible, you must live in the United States and be a U.S. citizen or national. You also can’t be incarcerated and can’t have Medicare coverage.
If you enroll by Thursday, December 15th, coverage can start on January 1st, 2023. If you enroll between December 16th and January 15th, your coverage will start on February 1st, 2023.
What Is the Premium Tax Credit?
A premium tax credit is a tax credit that can help eligible Americans afford health insurance plans bought through the Health Insurance Marketplace or their state exchange. To be eligible, your household income must be at least 100%, and no more than 400%, of the federal poverty line. However, for tax years 2021 and 2022, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA) temporarily eliminated the rule disqualifying households with incomes over 400% of the poverty line.
If you qualify, you can receive advance payments that cover some or all of your health insurance premiums each month. For example, if your plan costs $650 per month and you qualify for a premium tax credit of $600 per month, you’d only have to pay $50 per month to maintain coverage. The other option is to pay upfront and claim the credit when you file your taxes.
To qualify for a PTC, you must buy a plan through the Marketplace, and it must be your only option for affordable coverage (e.g. you aren’t eligible for government health coverage or an employer-sponsored plan that offers minimum value).
Methodology
To determine the best health insurance companies in Florida, we considered criteria in the following categories.
- Customer satisfaction: We considered NCQA ratings and healthcare.gov ratings, along with J.D. Power customer satisfaction rankings.
- Plan features: For each company, we researched whether it offered the following:
- Types of plans: HMO, PPO, EPO, POS, and other plan types
- Plan benefits: Programs to help manage asthma, heart disease, depression, diabetes, pain, high cholesterol and blood pressure, pregnancy, low back pain, and weight loss
- Dental coverage: Coverage for child dental, adult dental, both, or neither
- Metal levels: Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans, and catastrophic coverage
- Cost to value: We compared physician copays, specialist copays, monthly premiums, and deductibles for bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and catastrophic plans across different age groups within Florida.
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