Benefitra Launches Nationwide Health Plan Compare for Sole Proprietors

Benefitra’s Nationwide Health Plan Compare sets four nationwide plans beside state exchange options and checks 349 top hospitals in each network

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, November 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Benefitra, a Boston health insurance brokerage, has launched the Benefitra Nationwide Health Plan Compare, an online tool that puts hard-to-find nationwide health plans for sole proprietors side by side with the plans on their state’s exchange. The tool asks a few questions, removes plans a person does not qualify for, and shows the remaining options with their networks, specialty drug coverage and estimated cost.

Behind the tool is a research project. Benefitra read each plan’s own documents and compared them benefit by benefit. It also checked 349 top-rated hospitals in 50 states against the network each plan uses, in October 2026, so a self-employed person can see which hospitals a plan may lack before choosing it.

The launch comes as costs on the ACA Marketplace keep climbing. KFF reported on October 30, 2026 that finalized benchmark silver premiums will rise an average of 13 percent in 2027, after the enhanced premium tax credits expired. KFF found benchmark silver premiums have increased by 42 percent on average between 2025 and 2027.

“Self-employed people have more choices than their state exchange, but those plans are hard to find and harder to compare. We put them on one chart, row by row, using each plan’s own documents,” said Sam Newland, founder of Benefitra.

### Why Sole Proprietors Need a Different Comparison

A sole proprietor has no employer plan to fall back on. Many shop on the ACA Marketplace, where plans in each state follow the same federal rules and can be compared on one website. Outside the exchange, there are nationwide options that some self-employed people can join, but each one works differently, publishes its terms in its own documents and may be open only to people who meet certain conditions.

That makes a fair comparison hard. One plan may ask health questions and price by tier. Another may be available only through membership in a union program. A third may ask members to complete short monthly surveys. Networks differ too, and a plan that looks cheaper can leave out the hospital a family relies on.

The Nationwide Health Plan Compare is built to close that gap for one group in particular. Its own text says the comparison is built for sole proprietors. People who are not self-employed are told the tool is not showing plans for them, and that this says nothing about them or about other coverage they may have.

### Rising Exchange Costs Raise the Stakes

For self-employed people who buy coverage on the Marketplace, costs have moved sharply in two years.

According to KFF’s October 30, 2026 analysis of the 2027 open enrollment period, finalized benchmark silver premiums will rise 13 percent on average in 2027. In states that use the HealthCare.gov platform the increase is 11 percent, and in states that run their own enrollment platforms it is 16 percent. Open enrollment for 2027 began November 1, 2026 in most states.

The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. KFF reported that by February 2026, effectuated Marketplace enrollment was down 12 percent, or 2.6 million people, from the previous year, to 19.2 million people.

Peterson-KFF also noted that most people who signed up for a Marketplace plan in 2026, 87 percent, received a premium subsidy. It added that the end of the enhanced credits reduced financial assistance across the board, leaving a smaller share of people with subsidies and pushing some toward lower-premium bronze plans that tend to have higher deductibles.

Earlier in the year, the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker found a median proposed premium increase of 15 percent for 2027 across 276 ACA Marketplace insurers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It described this as the second consecutive year of double-digit premium increases, after a median finalized increase of 20 percent for 2026.

For a sole proprietor who earns too much to qualify for a subsidy, those increases land in full. That is when an option outside the exchange can be worth a look, and when a side-by-side comparison matters most.

### What the Tool Compares

The tool compares four nationwide programs that Benefitra selected after reviewing the market. Solo Health uses the MultiPlan PHCS network. Triad’s Cigna PPO plans use the Cigna Choice Fund PPO network. Core Choice uses the Blue Cross Blue Shield National PPO network. Population Science Management (PSM) Aetna Livelihood plans use the Aetna Signature Administrators network.

Each program is shown next to the person’s state exchange options in a coverage comparison chart. The chart’s rows follow the 10 essential health benefits that ACA plans must cover, then the main ACA consumer protections, plan facts and specialty medications. Every cell shows a status and a short label, with details and the source document behind it.

Not every plan is available everywhere. The page notes that Triad is not available in New York, and that PSM is not offered in 12 states: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Benefitra also says the four programs are not the full list of plans it reviewed. It left out plans that did not fit a niche or meet its coverage standard. Within the programs shown, it recommends only the more complete options: Triad’s Cigna PPO network plans rather than its reference-based pricing option, and PSM’s Aetna Livelihood plans rather than its lesser coverage options.

### How the Tool Works

The tool runs in three steps: state, the person’s details, and results.

It begins with screening questions. It asks whether the person is self-employed, whether anyone who would be covered takes specialty medications, and whether the person would be totally opposed to completing short monthly survey questionnaires. Each answer can remove a plan, and the tool says why. For example, Triad and Solo Health require self-employment, and PSM requires a willingness to complete monthly surveys and health tasks.

Next, the person picks a state and enters an age and household type: individual, couple, single parent or family. The results then show each remaining plan with its network, an estimated starting price, specialty drug coverage, notes and alerts, and any of the person’s chosen hospitals that the plan may lack.

People can pick the hospitals that matter to them. On the results, a hospital slider sets how much extra those hospitals are worth to the person, and plans that may lack them are flagged.

The tool also shows a figure it calls the Coverage Adjusted Premium. It adds the yearly premium to two amounts the person controls: how much extra their chosen hospitals are worth to them, and the cost of specialty medications a plan does not cover. The tool states that this figure is premium only and does not model expected deductible or out-of-pocket costs.

Answers stay in the browser tab. The page says they are not saved, not sent anywhere and not tracked, and that reloading the page erases them.

### The Four Programs at a Glance

The tool’s “More details” panels summarize each program from its documents, with sources. A few points from those panels show how differently the programs work.

Solo Health was introduced in 2023 by Healthy Business Group, founded in 2009. It is simplified issue: an applicant answers a health questionnaire and is either approved or not. Its deductible equals its out-of-pocket maximum, and it pays at most $1,000 per specialty prescription per 30-day fill after the deductible. Because PHCS works differently, the tool tells members to check each doctor, not just each hospital.

Triad started in 2010 and, by its own estimate, has about 80,000 members. Applicants complete a health questionnaire and are placed in one of seven rate tiers, so premiums shown are estimates until a tier is assigned. Triad covers specialty drugs at 50 percent coinsurance, for a 30-day supply only.

Core Choice has no age rating and prices by four household tiers. According to the carrier notes the tool cites, coverage cannot be denied for pre-existing conditions, and the tool asks people to confirm this. It does not cover specialty medications, and its prices are shown as estimates until current rates are confirmed.

PSM requires a suitability tool before it shows plans or quotes. Answers are verified afterward through a health information check by Milliman. Its Form 5500 filing reported 58,787 participants as of December 31, 2025. Its plans do not cover specialty medications.

### The Hospital Check

Network gaps are one of the biggest risks in choosing a plan outside the exchange, so Benefitra checked them directly.

The team started from U.S. News & World Report’s top hospitals for each state and nationwide. It then looked up each hospital in each plan network’s provider directory and, for a few, in the hospital’s own published price file. The work was done in October 2026.

The state list covers 349 hospitals in 50 states. The tool also includes 21 hospitals on a national list and 80 children’s hospital listings in 35 states. Of the 349 state hospitals, Benefitra’s research found 343 in the Blue Cross Blue Shield National PPO network, 339 in the Aetna Signature Administrators network, 333 in the Cigna Choice Fund PPO network and 236 in the MultiPlan PHCS network. The rest were marked out of network, likely out or not yet verified, and the tool notes that “unverified” does not mean out of network.

The page explains why this matters: once the differences are clear, a person can decide whether certain hospitals or plans are worth paying more for. It also notes that hospital contracts do change, though they are relatively stable, and that people should confirm their providers in the plan’s directory before they enroll.

### What Benefitra Checked in Each Plan

The core of the research is the coverage comparison chart. Benefitra says it read each plan’s own documents and compared them row by row, benefit by benefit.

The due diligence covers six areas. The company area covers who runs the plan, since when and how big it is. Eligibility and underwriting cover who can join, who can be turned down and what health questions are asked. Enrollment covers how people sign up, deadlines and when coverage starts. The plan year area covers when the plan renews, when deductibles reset and whether a member can switch or cancel. Benefits cover deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, hospitals and doctors, prescriptions and specialty drugs, and what is not covered. Service covers who members call, apps and ID cards, and how claims work.

Where a plan’s documents are silent, the chart says “Not stated in plan documents” rather than filling the gap with a guess. Where two documents disagree, the chart says so instead of picking one. Before anything is requested, the person confirms the key risks, and nothing is enrolled without their approval.

### Who These Plans Do Not Fit

The tool is direct about its limits. On its first screen, the page says these plans are a poor fit for people who take specialty medications or are in expensive ongoing treatment, and it suggests those people talk to a local agent or go to HealthCare.gov.

The plans compared cover specialty drugs only partially or not at all. For a household with more than one person, the page suggests a split: the people who take specialty medications go on state-based exchange coverage that covers them, and everyone else goes on one of the nationwide plans.

Other disclosures on the page are just as plain. All figures are illustrative estimates. Rates are subject to underwriting and final approval. Renewal rates can be based on health and may be declined or significantly increased. Coverage terms are governed by each plan’s official documents, and the page is informational and is not insurance advice.

The tool also flags mid-year switching, marking plans where a member cannot switch in the middle of the year. In Massachusetts, where the individual and small group markets are merged, the tool notes that a mid-year switch appears possible and tells people to confirm with a local broker or agent.

### Getting a Quote

Each plan card ends with a Get a Quote / Enroll button. The key disclosures and the required confirmations for that plan appear in that window, before any request is sent. The tool also offers a personalized recommendation, and a person can go back and change answers, such as the value placed on certain hospitals, and watch the comparison update.

### How Benefitra Is Paid

Benefitra discloses its role on the page. Commissions are built into the premiums, and Benefitra is credited for helping a person find a plan.

For PSM, the page states that whenever Benefitra provides information about PSM, it is acting as a recruiter, not a broker. For the other plans, Triad, Core Choice and Solo Health, Benefitra acts as the person’s broker.

### Where the Tool Fits

Benefitra’s work with self-employed people includes its freelancer health plan service (https://benefitra.com/freelancer-health-plan/), which covers Marketplace plans, off-Marketplace options and the self-employed health insurance deduction. Its guide to individual health plans (https://benefitra.com/individual-health-plans/) explains metal tiers, premium tax credits and how individual coverage differs from group coverage.

For readers weighing coverage outside the exchange, Benefitra’s explainer on non-marketplace health insurance premiums (https://benefitra.com/what-are-non-marketplace-health-insurance-premiums/) describes how those plans are priced and what to check before buying. Its guide on insurance for 1099 workers (https://benefitra.com/insurance-for-1099-employees/) covers options for contractors and the businesses that hire them. The Nationwide Health Plan Compare sits with the company’s other planning tools (https://benefitra.com/tools/).

Benefitra also publishes Health Insurance for Freelancers, a handbook for self-employed workers, and a guide to Nationwide Health Plans for employers with staff in several states.

### About Sam Newland

Sam Newland (https://benefitra.com/samuel-newland/), CFP^®, founded Benefitra. His path into the field began in 2009, when his father was diagnosed with cancer and he saw firsthand how families pay for care and what coverage actually does. In 2013 he joined HealthMarkets, and his work moved over time from individual policies to employer benefits. He earned the Certified Financial Planner designation at 26, and later left to build a brokerage with no captive ties.

### About Benefitra

Benefitra (https://benefitra.com/about/) is an independent employee benefits brokerage, software platform and marketing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It works with small and mid-sized employers and self-employed people in all 50 states across seven health insurance funding arrangements: fully insured, level-funded, self-funded, self-funded captive, ICHRA, PEO-integrated and Taft-Hartley. Its planning tools and published research help people compare cost, coverage and risk before they choose a plan.

SAMUEL DAVID NEWLAND
Benefitra
+ +1-857-255-9394
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