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How Tennessee Realtors Should Compare Health Insurance Plans

By Martin Elefant · Licensed insurance agent · Updated October 2026 · 5 min read

Agents compare premiums and stop. Here's the order that actually protects you.

1. Out-of-pocket maximum

The most you can spend in a year on covered care. This is the number that matters in a bad year. Marketplace plans in Tennessee cap around $9,200 individual; private PPOs commonly $6,000–$9,000.

2. Network — and where it works

Is your doctor in it? Is the hospital you'd actually go to in Davidson County in it? Does it work in another state? HMO vs. PPO decides this. Cigna, Aetna and PHCS PPO PPOs are national.

3. Deductible

How much you pay before the plan pays. Healthy agents usually do best with a mid-range deductible and lower premium, plus an HSA.

4. Premium

Only now. And compare net of subsidy if you qualify, net of the self-employed deduction either way. Tennessee has no state income tax, so the only lever on a health premium is the premium itself.

5. Enrollment flexibility

Marketplace: once a year. Private: any month. If your income is volatile, flexibility has value.

Tennessee didn't expand Medicaid, so self-employed people with modest incomes can fall in a gap with no subsidy — and Nashville's self-employed music, creative and healthcare workforce is one of the biggest private-plan markets in the South.

Our quoting tool shows every private plan in Tennessee with deductible and out-of-pocket max side by side. Or check your options and we'll compare both markets for you.

ME
Martin Elefant
Licensed insurance agent · NPN 20765405 · Lyons Life LLC · Tennessee Private Health

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