VOL.01 · ISS.03 ◆ Policy & Pain · This Week's Lead

The $705 cliff is coming. Most ACA shoppers have no idea.

Enhanced ACA premium tax credits expire December 31, 2025. The average subsidized enrollee will see their share of the premium jump $705/year in 2026. Some families lose subsidies entirely. Here's what brokers won't tell you about how to prepare.

By Kristian Delgado ◆ NPN #18338319 ◆ May 12, 2026 ◆ 12 min read

In 2021, the American Rescue Plan made ACA premium subsidies dramatically more generous. The Inflation Reduction Act extended them through 2025. Now they sunset — and the math is brutal. For a 45-year-old self-employed couple earning $90,000 in Florida, the difference between 2025 subsidies and 2026 unsubsidized rates is roughly $11,000 per year. Your broker has known for months. They haven't told you, because there's no commission in a phone call about bad news.

Read the full breakdown

◆ See it for yourself

What does your $0/month plan look like?

The federal Marketplace tool I use as a broker. Real plans in your state, real prices, real subsidy estimate — no email gate, no upsell. 60 seconds.

See my plans →

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Recent issues

What we've broken down lately.

Full archive →

PAIN POINT·Issue 02·May 5, 2026

Why your fully-insured renewal is up 22% this year — and what your broker isn't quoting you on.

Group health renewals across most carriers are landing 14–22% higher this season. Most of it is community rating + medical loss ratio rebounds. But there's a structural alternative most small employers never get quoted on. We do the math on a real 12-employee dental practice in West Palm Beach.

By Kristian Delgado · 9 min read

DECODE·Issue 01·April 28, 2026

Your EOB has five numbers. Only one of them matters. Here's how to read the rest.

"Explanation of Benefits" forms are deliberately confusing. Allowed amount, plan paid, plan discount, member responsibility, billed amount — they're not the same thing and they don't add up the way you think. A line-by-line walkthrough on a real EOB.

By Kristian Delgado · 7 min read

PLAYBOOK·Coming May 19·Drafting

The self-employed health insurance stack: HSA + ACA + ICHRA in plain English.

If you're a freelancer, consultant, or sole-prop, you're probably under-using the tax-advantaged tools available to you. Here's the three-layer stack we set up for clients earning $80–250K/year, with the actual paperwork to file.

By Kristian Delgado · est. 11 min read

Insider Tools

Calculators & checks you won't find on a carrier website.

Brokers have access to underwriting math. Carriers have it too. You usually don't. Below are the tools we built (and use) — free, no email required, no upsell on the next page.

Run Your Plans & Subsidy

The federal Marketplace tool I use as a broker. Real 2026 plans in your area, real prices, real subsidy. 60 seconds.

See my plans → 02

Renewal Audit

Send us your renewal letter. We quote it across 5 carriers and show you side-by-side. Free.

Run the audit → 03

Subsidy Estimator

Enter your age, household, and income. See your estimated 2026 premium tax credit in 60 seconds. Free, no account.

Estimate my subsidy → 04

Broker Verification

Look up any insurance broker — including me. NPN, state license, disciplinary history. All public.

Verify a broker →

Why this publication exists

Health insurance is a maze designed by the people who profit from confusion.

I've been brokering health insurance for 8 years. Mostly groups (small businesses) and individual ACA plans. In that time I've watched the same pattern play out hundreds of times: a client gets a renewal letter, a quote from a competing broker, a glossy "alternative" pitch from a captive agent — and they have no way to tell what's real.

The reason isn't accidents. Insurance is sold by people who get paid more when you understand less. Carriers price plans in dialects nobody outside the industry speaks. Brokers — most brokers — would rather you not learn, because then you might leave.

The Insurance Insider is the opposite of all of that. It's a free publication. The brokerage is downstream. If you read it and never call me, that's fine. If you read it and decide to switch — you'll know exactly why, and you'll have done the math yourself.

The deal is simple: I'll publish what carriers don't want published, and what brokers don't want to explain, every Monday. You'll learn enough to make better decisions even if I never see a dollar from your account.

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If you actually need a broker

Send me your renewal. I'll quote it five ways.

The audit is free, takes 15 minutes, and covers fully-insured, level-funded, and ICHRA structures across 5+ carriers. If you're already in a good place, I'll tell you. If you're not, I'll show you exactly where the money is.

Prefer to talk? (954) 338-9905 — I pick up.