A $9,000 deductible is fine if you never use the plan. In a trade, you’re going to use the plan. What matters is what happens after the deductible: is there a max out-of-pocket, and is there a ceiling on what the plan pays? Some plans marketed to contractors stop at $250,000. A serious surgery and rehab gets there.
Tell me what you do, how many people you’ve got, and whether you’ve had anything treated in the last few years. That’s enough to know which door.
I’m Nathan Baughman with BIG Benefits here in Doylestown. A lot of my clients are in the trades, and most of them came to me after a close call: a fall, a cut, a back that went out, and a bill that made them actually read their policy for the first time.
Marketplace (Pennie) if you’ve got ongoing conditions or income under the subsidy line. Guaranteed issue, no health questions.
Private, underwritten plan if you’re healthy: priced on your health, PPO network, max out-of-pocket, unlimited contract, enroll any month. Pair it with an accident policy and you’ve got a high deductible you can actually afford to hit.
Short-term for a known gap of up to four months.
For the crew: a QSEHRA or ICHRA lets you give employees tax-free money toward their own plans (up to $6,450 single / $13,100 family for 2026 under QSEHRA), or a small-group plan once you have the headcount. I’ll bring in my group partner if that’s the road.
Read what happens after the deductible. Add accident coverage if you went high-deductible. Don’t wait for November. Cover the crew the right way.
“Insurance is expensive and confusing. Nathan broke all of my options down and we came to agreement on a plan that will cover my needs.” — Google review
No accident coverage. If you chose a high deductible to keep the premium down, an accident policy pays you cash for exactly the kind of injury your job makes likely, and it’s cheap.
Waiting for November. A lot of tradesmen go uncovered for months because they think they missed the window. Private plans have no window.
Covering your crew wrong. Two or three employees, and either nobody’s covered or the owner is paying for a group plan that doesn’t fit. There are ways to reimburse employees for their own coverage, tax-free, without a group plan. See the Small Teams page.
1. Is there a maximum out-of-pocket? 2. Is it an unlimited contract? 3. Is it guaranteed renewable? If a plan uses words like “deductible” and “PPO network,” that doesn’t automatically make it actual health insurance. These three questions do.
Send me an age and a zip code and I’ll send back a general idea of what’s available in your area. Twenty minutes, no charge, no pressure. Happy to answer any and all questions so you can make the most informed decision for you, your family, or your business.
