Tampa General Hospital
1,354 licensed beds and Tampa Bay's first and only Level I trauma centre, plus the primary teaching hospital for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
Tampa, Florida · Hillsborough County
Health insurance in Tampa.
Hillsborough has the lowest average premiums and the youngest population of Florida's four big metros — and one option that exists nowhere else in the state if you fall in the coverage gap.
Licensed in Florida · License #G188518 · verify it yourself
$300
Typical net Silver premium
The lowest of Florida's four largest metros
16.5%
Residents aged 65 or over
Well below Florida's 22.8% — a working-age market
164,973
Uninsured residents under 65
13.1% of under-65s, just below the state average
175%
FPL cap for the county plan
Hillsborough runs its own coverage program
On the ground in Hillsborough
Hillsborough is the only county in Florida with its own answer to the coverage gap
Because Florida never expanded Medicaid, a childless adult does not qualify for Medicaid at any income, and Marketplace subsidies do not start until 100% of the federal poverty level. In most of the state, people caught between those two have nothing.
Hillsborough is different. The Hillsborough County Health Care Plan is a county-run, sales-tax-funded managed care program for low-income residents who qualify for neither Medicaid nor Medicare. It covers primary and specialty care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, and pharmacy, and it is free to eligible members. Eligibility runs to 175% of the federal poverty level — about $27,930 for one person, $37,870 for two and $57,750 for a household of four — plus residency, immigration-status and asset requirements.
It is not health insurance and it will not follow you out of the county. But if you are working in Tampa, earning too little for a subsidised Marketplace plan and too much for nothing at all, it is the first thing anyone should check — and almost no broker will mention it, because there is nothing in it for them.
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We will tell you to apply anyway
If the county plan is your best option, we say so. That is a conversation that earns us nothing and it is still the right answer — which is roughly the whole point of working with someone independent.
Mohab H. Saintelus
Licensed Advisor · FL #G188518
Networks
Hospitals and networks in Tampa
The single most common regret in health insurance is a plan that did not include a doctor or hospital someone was already using. This is where we start, not where we finish.
BayCare Health System
A not-for-profit network with more than 34,000 team members across Tampa Bay and West Central Florida.
AdventHealth Tampa
Including the Pepin Heart Institute. Network participation varies meaningfully between carriers here.
Moffitt Cancer Center
An NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centre. If you are in active cancer treatment, confirm Moffitt participation before anything else.
Who we work with
Who we help in Tampa
Young families
Hillsborough skews the youngest of Florida's big metros, with only 16.5% of residents over 65. That means maternity coverage, paediatric networks and deductibles that a family can actually meet matter more here than Medicare transitions.
Contractors and consultants
188,229 non-employer businesses against 42,977 employer firms. Tampa's professional-services and finance clusters generate a lot of well-paid 1099 work with no benefits attached.
People just over the subsidy line
With the enhanced credits expired, the 400% cliff is back. Above it, the subsidy is not reduced — it is zero. That makes private off-exchange plans worth a serious look in a lower-premium county like this one.
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Access to major U.S. carriers
Carrier names are trademarks of their respective owners. Saintellus Health Advisory is an independent advisor.
Working with a local broker in Tampa
Saintellus Health Advisory is an independent agency based in Fort Lauderdale and licensed across 31+ states. Independent means we are not tied to one carrier: we compare 7 on-exchange companies in Hillsborough County alongside private off-exchange plans, employer options and COBRA, then tell you plainly which one fits.
There is no fee for that. The carrier compensates the advisor when someone enrolls, and that compensation is already built into the plan’s filed rate — your premium is identical whether you enroll with us, on your own, or through another agent. What you get for using one is somebody who has read the network directory.
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027, with December 15, 2026 the deadline for coverage starting January 1. Outside that window you need a qualifying life event — losing job coverage, moving, marriage, a birth — and those have deadlines of their own, usually 60 days.
Common questions about health insurance in Tampa
What is the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan?
It is a county-funded managed care program for low-income Hillsborough residents who qualify for neither Medicaid nor Medicare. It covers primary and specialty care, inpatient and outpatient services and pharmacy, at no cost to eligible members, for households at or below 175% of the federal poverty level. It is not insurance and it does not travel outside the county, but for people in the coverage gap it is often the best available option.
Why is health insurance cheaper in Tampa than in South Florida?
Florida sets premiums by county rating area, and Hillsborough is rating area 28. For the 2026 plan year, state regulators put the average Silver premium for a 28-year-old earning $35,000 at $631 a month here, against $665 in Broward, $686 in Miami-Dade and $750 in Collier. Provider costs, competition and local claims history all feed into that.
Which carriers sell health plans in Hillsborough County?
Seven companies sell on-exchange individual plans in Hillsborough for the 2026 plan year and nine sell off-exchange, per the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Cigna is not among them for individual coverage in this county.
I earn too much for a subsidy. What are my options in Tampa?
Above 400% of the federal poverty level the premium tax credit is zero rather than reduced — the cliff returned when the enhanced credits expired at the end of 2025. That makes it worth comparing private off-exchange plans, which are priced on different factors, against the unsubsidised Marketplace price. In a lower-premium county the gap between those two options is often decisive.
Where these numbers come from
Premium and carrier figures: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, 2026 plan year tables. Population, income and uninsured figures: U.S. Census QuickFacts, Hillsborough County (ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates). Statewide enrollment: KFF Marketplace plan selections, 2026. Medicaid eligibility thresholds: KFF, January 2026. Premium figures describe average silver plan, single adult age 28 earning $35,000 a year, 2026 plan year and are a reference point, not a quote.
Saintellus Health Advisory is an independent insurance agency licensed in 31+ states. Mohab H. Saintelus, Licensed Health Insurance Advisor, Florida license #G188518. Plan availability, pricing and eligibility vary by state, county, age and household. This page is general education and is not medical, tax or legal advice.
Areas served
Around Tampa
- Brandon
- Riverview
- Plant City
- Temple Terrace
- Lutz
- Apollo Beach
- Valrico
- Town 'n' Country
Other Florida markets we serve
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