It's that time of year again, Reader,

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If you're already a freelancer, you need to decide if you'll keep your current health insurance plan or change to a different one for 2026. (Open enrollment starts Nov 1!)

If you're not freelancing yet but you're going to start in 2026, now is also a great time to take a look at your options and get an idea of what your monthly premiums could be.

Last year, I made this video all about how I have handled health insurance as a freelancer with chronic illness:

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It's still full of helpful info if you're just getting started or in the process of transitioning to your own health insurance.

I also recommend speaking to a health insurance broker in your area if you have questions or if you find the Marketplace intimidating to navigate.

Back when I had traditional insurance, I loved meeting with my broker every year to talk about my options. They would walk me through the whole process and get me signed up for a new plan on the spot. I didn't have to do so much as a mouse click.

But this year I've been using CrowdHealth as my "health insurance" and it's been great.

CrowdHealth is a healthcare cost-sharing membership, which is a health insurance alternative.

So instead of paying a health insurance company every month, I pay CrowdHealth a membership fee + contribution to the "Crowd." That contribution goes towards everyone's medical expenses, which are submitted by members to CrowdHealth and refunded as needed. Voila, community-funded healthcare.

That's a simplified explanation, but so far the membership has been great.

I'm thinking about making a full video on my first year with CrowdHealth, so stay tuned for that if you want more details.

In the meantime, how are you feeling about navigating your health insurance options for 2026? Let's say on a scale of Overwhelmed to Nonplussed.

Shoot me a reply and let me know~

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Here to help,

Amanda

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P.S.

I'm posting regularly on LinkedIn these days! If we haven't already, let's connect.