Michael Insurance Solutions
Business owner health insurance plans — South Florida

You earn too much
for the subsidized plan.

Most business owners land above the income range where marketplace subsidies do anything — which means the exchange is quietly the worst place for you to shop. Private plans usually mean broader PPO networks, no income reporting, and a lot more control over the plan design.

See private options Call me directly

Licensed Florida broker · No cost to you · The carrier pays me

Michael D'Angelo, licensed health and life insurance broker
Michael D'AngeloHealth & Life Broker
Start with the only number that matters

Your headcount decides your rules

Almost every question a business owner asks me about health insurance has the same answer: it depends on how many full-time-equivalent employees you have. Here's where the lines actually fall.

Just you

No employees

You can't form a group of one. You're shopping the individual market — and at business-owner income, that almost always means a private plan rather than the exchange.

2–9

A handful of W-2 staff

A private small group plan becomes possible. Carriers set minimum participation and contribution requirements, and a few W-2 employees is usually enough to clear them.

10–49

A real payroll

Private group plans get easier to qualify for and start working as a real retention tool. Still no federal requirement to offer anything. You're choosing, not complying.

Mandate begins
50+

Applicable Large Employer

At 50 full-time-equivalent employees the ACA employer mandate applies. Offering affordable, minimum-value coverage stops being optional and penalties enter the picture.

Full-time equivalents, not headcount — part-timers add up fractionally, which is how businesses cross 50 without realizing it. If you're anywhere near that line, count carefully before you plan the year.

Three real paths

What you're actually choosing between

Business owner health insurance plans come in three shapes, and most owners only know about one of them. For your income bracket, the exchange is usually the wrong door.

Usually the fit
Private individual plan
For you, your spouse and your family
  • +Carriers and PPO networks you won't find on the exchange
  • +No income reporting and no reconciliation at tax time
  • +Plan designs built for people who can afford a real deductible
  • +Keep specialists in other states if you travel for work
  • −No premium subsidy — you pay the full rate
Private small group
Once you have W-2 employees
  • +Premiums are a deductible business expense
  • +Serious retention tool against competitors offering nothing
  • +Rates aren't tied to any individual's income
  • −Carriers require minimum participation and an employer contribution
  • −You absorb the renewal increase each year
The exchange
Right for some owners, not most
  • +Real money saved if your income sits in the subsidy range
  • +Worth checking in a rebuilding year or after a bad one
  • −Networks are often narrower and more local
  • −Subsidies are advance estimates, reconciled against actual income
  • −Above the subsidy range you get no discount and fewer choices

I quote all three. If your income lands somewhere the exchange genuinely wins, I'll tell you that — but for most owners I sit down with, a private plan buys a materially better network for a difference that's smaller than expected.

How I actually work

A real comparison, not a pitch for one carrier

01

Census first

Ages, ZIP codes, who's already on a spouse's plan, who actually uses their coverage. That roster is what decides whether you're better off with a private group plan or covering yourself privately and leaving staff to shop.

02

Private and exchange, side by side

The same family, quoted both ways, with the networks laid next to each other. You'll see exactly what the extra premium buys and whether it's worth it for you.

03

I check your doctors by name

The live network directory, not the brochure. Then I handle enrollment, the paperwork and the employee questions — and I'm the one who picks up next year at renewal.

If a carrier turned your group down earlier this year

Small employers who can't meet a carrier's minimum participation or contribution rules the rest of the year get a window each fall — roughly mid-November through mid-December — where those requirements are relaxed. If a carrier turned you down in March, the answer can be different in November.

Check my group
Straight answers

What owners ask me

What does "private" health insurance actually mean?
Coverage bought directly from a carrier or through a broker rather than through healthcare.gov. Many private plans carry the same consumer protections as exchange plans — guaranteed issue, no denial for pre-existing conditions — but they're sold off-exchange, which is where carriers often put their broader PPO networks. Other private products are medically underwritten and work differently. I'll tell you which category anything I quote you falls into.
Why wouldn't I just use healthcare.gov?
If your income lands in the subsidy range, you probably should — and I'll say so. But most business owners are above it, which means no discount and a narrower set of plans. At that point you're paying full price for the more limited option. That's the specific situation private plans exist to solve.
Am I required to offer my employees health insurance?
Not unless you have 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees. Below that line there's no federal employer mandate — offering coverage is a recruiting and retention decision. At 50 or more, ACA employer shared responsibility rules apply and penalties are possible for not offering affordable, minimum-value coverage.
Can I write off the premiums?
Premiums for a group plan covering employees are generally a deductible business expense. Self-employed owners covering themselves may be able to take an above-the-line deduction, subject to conditions like not being eligible for a spouse's employer plan. Your entity type and how you're paid change the answer, so run the specifics past your CPA — I'm not a tax advisor.
Can I cover just myself and my spouse through the business?
Generally not as a group. Carriers won't write a group of one, and an owner plus spouse usually doesn't qualify either. You'd be buying a private individual or family plan — which for most owners at that stage is the better product anyway.
My renewal came back with a big increase. What are my options?
Shop other carriers, change the plan design, adjust the split between what you and your employees pay, or move to private individual coverage for yourself and re-evaluate what the group actually needs. Send me the renewal letter and I'll tell you which lever is worth pulling before you sign it.
What does this cost me?
Nothing to have the conversation or run the comparison. Carriers compensate the broker, and the premium is the same with or without me. What you get is someone who quotes private and exchange both ways instead of selling you the one product they carry.
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Tell me about your business

Send me your headcount and I'll come back with private options for you and your family, what a small group plan would cost if you have staff, and how both compare against the exchange.

  • No cost, and no obligation
  • I'll tell you if the exchange is genuinely better for you
  • Licensed in Florida and Pennsylvania
  • Same-day response most days

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