Health insurance brokers in California

• 1,785,000Californians were enrolled through Covered California as of March 2026, the second highest count in its history
• $300Min state premium help for 2027, up from $190 million, now reaching incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty level
• $0what it costs you to have a broker walk through your California options

California charges you for going without coverage

California has its own individual mandate. Residents are expected to have qualifying coverage for every month of the year, and the Franchise Tax Board collects the penalty when you file your state return. According to Covered California, a full year without coverage costs at least $950 per adult, with an additional amount for each uninsured child. There are exemptions, including one for people who cannot find affordable coverage, but you have to claim them. They do not happen automatically.

That changes the math on skipping coverage. In most states the only cost of going uninsured is the risk. In California there is also a bill waiting at tax time.

California also pays some of your premium

On the other side of the ledger, California spends its own money to lower premiums for people with modest incomes. For 2026 that state help reached incomes up to 165 percent of the federal poverty level. For 2027 Covered California raised the budget to $300 million, up from $190 million, and extended it to incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty level, which is about $31,920 for one person or $66,000 for a family of four. Covered California estimates about 200,000 more people qualify than did in 2026.

What changes for 2027

Covered California announced an average rate increase of 9.9 percent for 2027 before any financial help, with wide swings by region and by carrier. Twelve carriers will sell plans. Molina Healthcare will stop offering marketplace plans in Regions 15 and 18, which affects about 1,600 enrollees, and a new carrier is entering Orange County. If you are one of the Molina members, you can choose a new plan yourself or be moved to the lowest cost carrier at the same metal level, and choosing yourself is the only way to make sure your doctors come along.

When buying outside Covered California makes sense

Coverage sold outside the exchange covers the same essential benefits, and California's penalty is satisfied by any qualifying plan. It makes sense mainly for people who will not receive any premium help, because their income is too high or because they have access to an affordable job based plan they have chosen not to take. It rarely makes sense for anyone who qualifies for federal or state help, since that money is only paid through Covered California. Sorting out which group you are in is the first thing I do.

Open enrollment dates for 2027 coverage in California

California runs its own exchange, so Covered California sets its own calendar, and it is longer than the federal one. Current enrollees could renew or switch starting October 1.

• November 1, 2026Open enrollment begins for 2027 coverage on Covered California
• December 31, 2026Enroll by this date for a plan that starts January 1, 2027
• January 31, 2027Open enrollment closes. January enrollments start February 1

Outside that window you need a qualifying life event, such as losing other coverage, getting married, having a baby, or moving. California also treats going uninsured differently from most states, because the state tax penalty gives people a real reason to fix a gap quickly. Special enrollment in California runs through Covered California, not HealthCare.gov, which catches out people who move here from another state.

Every 2027 change in California, carrier by carrier →

How to choose a health insurance broker in California

Anyone can put "broker" on a website. These are the questions that separate the real ones, and you can ask every one of them in a five minute phone call.

1. Verify the license before anything else

   Ask for the license number and the NPN, then look them up yourself. California agents can be checked through the California Department of Insurance license status inquiry, and every agent in the country is searchable through the NAIC lookup. An agent who hesitates to give you those numbers has told you everything you need to know. Mine are on this page and on my license page.

2. Ask whether they are independent or captive

   A captive agent works for one insurance company and can only sell you that company's plans. An independent broker is appointed with many carriers and compares across them. Neither is dishonest, but only one of them can tell you when a competitor has the better plan for you.

3. Ask what it costs, and be suspicious of any answer other than nothing

   Brokers are paid by the insurance carriers. The premium is identical whether you enroll through a broker, on your own, or directly with the carrier. Nobody should charge you a fee to enroll you in an individual marketplace plan.

4. Ask how many carriers they can actually quote

   "We shop the whole market" is a slogan until someone puts a number on it. Ask which carriers they are appointed with in California, and ask them to show you the comparison rather than describe it.

5. Ask whether they will still be there in March

   Plenty of agents are enthusiastic in December and unreachable in the spring, which is exactly when a claim gets denied or a doctor turns out to be out of network. Ask who you call when something goes wrong. The answer should be a person, not a call center.

6. Read the reviews, and look at the dates

   A handful of genuine reviews spread over time tells you more than a wall of them that all landed in the same week. Mine are on my Google profile and they arrived one at a time, from clients who agreed to write one.

What working with me looks like

You tell me your ZIP code, who needs coverage, and roughly what you expect to earn this year. I check whether you are likely to qualify for financial help, then walk you through the options that fit, including coverage sold outside the state exchange. If a plan through the state exchange is the right answer for you, I will say so plainly and point you to a certified helper there, since that is the door to any subsidy. For coverage I can place directly, I handle the enrollment paperwork and stay your point of contact afterward.

Most first conversations take about ten minutes. There is no cost and no obligation, and I am not going to pressure you into a plan, because a client who was pushed into the wrong coverage is a client who leaves.

Where I work in California

Statewide. Most of my work happens over the phone or a video call, so where you are in California changes nothing about the process.

• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• San Jose
• San Francisco
• Fresno
• Sacramento
• Long Beach
• Oakland
• Bakersfield
• Anaheim
• Riverside
• Santa Ana
• Irvine
• Stockton
• Chula Vista
• Fremont
• Santa Rosa
• Modesto
• Redding
• Santa Barbara

I am also licensed in every other state, so if you are moving or splitting time between two states, that usually is not a problem either.

Who I help most in California

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.9 percent of people in California had no health insurance in 2024, below the national rate of 8.2 percent.

Individuals and families buying their own coverage, self employed people and 1099 contractors, small business owners, people who just lost employer coverage, and early retirees bridging the gap to Medicare. In California I also talk with a lot of people who earn too much for any premium help and want a straight comparison of what they can buy.