Health insurance brokers in Rhode Island

• 20,000+Rhode Islanders expected to get help from RIMAP, the new state savings program, starting January 2027
• January 312027, the last day of open enrollment on HealthSource RI
• $0what it costs you to ask a broker how Rhode Island's rules apply to you

Rhode Island built its own help for 2027

When the enhanced federal premium tax credits expired, many Rhode Islanders paid more for 2026. The state's answer is RIMAP, a state savings program on HealthSource RI that starts in January 2027 and is expected to help more than 20,000 current and former customers. It applies to eligible silver plans bought through HealthSource RI, and it stacks on top of federal tax credits.

Two groups qualify. The first is households under 200 percent of the federal poverty level. HealthSource RI gives the example of an individual earning about $31,920 a year or a family of four earning about $64,000. The second is households over 400 percent of the poverty level, if an average plan would cost them a high share of their income. That second group matters, because those are the people who lost all federal help when the enhanced credits ended. HealthSource RI estimates that an individual earning $31,000 could save about $119 a month, and a family of four earning $64,300 about $133 a month.

There is also a separate program for parents and caretaker relatives whose children are on Medicaid, if the adults are not Medicaid eligible themselves and earn up to 175 percent of the poverty level. It can be combined with RIMAP.

A small market with two carriers and a mandate

Only two carriers sell through HealthSource RI: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. For 2027 they filed increases above 20 percent, and the state cut them sharply. Blue Cross was approved for 4.9 percent and Neighborhood for 15.8 percent, a weighted average of 12.4 percent before subsidies. With only two choices, a gap that size is worth a second look at your renewal.

Rhode Island has also required most residents to have qualifying health coverage since January 1, 2020, and going without can mean a penalty on your state tax return. The state's reinsurance program, in place since 2020, works in the background to keep full price premiums lower.

Open enrollment dates for 2027 coverage in Rhode Island

Rhode Island runs its own exchange, so HealthSource RI sets its own calendar, and it gives you more time than most. Open enrollment for 2027 is open now.

• November 1, 2026Open enrollment for 2027 began on HealthSource RI
• December 23, 2026Enroll and pay by this date to have your insurance card before January 1
• January 31, 2027Open enrollment closes

Outside that window you need a qualifying life event, such as losing job based coverage, marriage, a new baby, or a move, which usually opens a 60 day special enrollment period through HealthSource RI. If you are eligible for Rhode Island Medicaid, you can enroll at any time of year.

Every 2027 change in Rhode Island, carrier by carrier →

How to choose a health insurance broker in Rhode Island

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. Rhode Island agents can be checked through the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation insurance license verification, 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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island

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

• Providence
• Warwick
• Cranston
• Pawtucket
• East Providence
• Woonsocket
• Coventry
• Cumberland
• North Providence
• South Kingstown
• West Warwick
• Johnston
• North Kingstown
• Newport
• Bristol
• Westerly
• Smithfield
• Lincoln
• Central Falls
• Narragansett

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 Rhode Island

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.6 percent of people in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island I also spend time with people who earn just over the old subsidy line and assume there is no help for them, because for 2027 there may be.