Health insurance brokers in Maine

• 6 in 10CoverME.gov enrollees chose a bronze plan for 2026, up from just under half in 2025
• 58,523Mainers picked a plan on CoverME.gov for 2026, the lowest since Maine took over its own exchange
• $0what a broker costs you, in Maine and everywhere else

Maine moved down to bronze

CoverME.gov's own review of the 2026 open enrollment is unusually candid. Plan selections fell nearly 10 percent to 58,523, the lowest since Maine began running its own marketplace. The people who stayed changed what they bought. Nearly 60 percent chose a bronze plan, up from just under 50 percent the year before, and silver enrollment fell by about 30 percent.

The reason is the expiration of the enhanced federal tax credits at the end of 2025. For people with no subsidy, the average premium on CoverME.gov rose more than 30 percent, to $811 a month. Twenty two percent of enrollees now pay more than $1,000 a month.

Maine also uses standardized Clear Choice plan designs on CoverME.gov, which makes plans at the same level easier to compare. That helps, but it does not tell you which level fits your year. That is the conversation worth having.

How Maine keeps its market stable

Maine runs a reinsurance program through the Maine Guaranteed Access Reinsurance Association, which began in 2019. In 2023 the state merged its individual and small group markets into one risk pool covered by that program. Even so, Maine's prices are high. KFF puts the average benchmark premium for a 40 year old here at $804 a month for 2027, above the national average of $704, which makes the subsidy question more important here than in most states.

Maine also expanded Medicaid, called MaineCare. If your income has fallen, MaineCare may now be the right answer rather than a CoverME.gov plan, and checking costs nothing.

What changes for 2027

The Bureau of Insurance approved average individual market increases of just under 15 percent for 2027. It also confirmed that Mending Health, formerly Taro Health, is leaving the market and will no longer offer coverage as of January 1, 2027. The Bureau said it had about 1,100 members. If you are one of them, you need a new plan, and three carriers remain on CoverME.gov.

For everyone else, the renewal you receive will be at a higher price. If you moved to bronze last year to survive the premium, look again this year with your actual medical use in front of you, not just the monthly number.

Open enrollment dates for 2027 coverage in Maine

Maine runs its own exchange, so CoverME.gov sets its own enrollment window. CoverME.gov lists open enrollment for 2027 as November 1 through January 15, with December 15 as the deadline for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.

• November 1, 2026Open enrollment begins for 2027 coverage on CoverME.gov
• December 15, 2026Last day to choose a plan that starts January 1, 2027
• January 15, 2027Open enrollment closes

Outside that window you need a qualifying life event, such as losing job based coverage, moving, marriage, a new baby, or aging off a parent's plan at 26, which typically opens a 60 day window. In Maine those special enrollments also run through CoverME.gov, not HealthCare.gov. MaineCare accepts applications all year.

Every 2027 change in Maine, carrier by carrier →

How to choose a health insurance broker in Maine

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. Maine agents can be checked through the Maine Bureau of Insurance licensee search, 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 Maine, 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 Maine

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

• Portland
• Lewiston
• Bangor
• South Portland
• Auburn
• Biddeford
• Sanford
• Saco
• Westbrook
• Augusta
• Waterville
• Brunswick
• Scarborough
• Windham
• Gorham
• York
• Kennebunk
• Presque Isle
• Ellsworth
• Rockland

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 Maine

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.5 percent of people in Maine 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, fishermen, farmers and seasonal workers, small business owners, people who just lost employer coverage, and early retirees bridging the gap to Medicare. In Maine I spend real time on the bronze versus silver question, because getting it wrong shows up as a bill, not a premium.