The below content has been transcribed from “Cómo Reducir el Costo de su Seguro Médico en 2026” and translated to English.
Carlos:Greetings from the Freedom Group. We are a group of three companies that have been assisting our Hispanic community with all matters related to taxes, accounting, insurance, financial planning, and real estate for over 20 years. It’s November 2025, and the Obamacare open enrollment period has begun. Many people should review their health insurance plans and ensure they have the best plan for themselves and their families to begin coverage in January 2026.
Now you know that there are thousands of people and families who could lose their health insurance or start paying much more than they currently do if they don’t follow these three steps. To talk to us about these three steps, I’m going to bring in my coworker, Yeniré. Yeniré, how are you?
Yenniree:Excellent, Carlos, thank God. How are you?
Carlos:Everything’s fine, thank God.
Yeniré is the president of Freedom Insurance, a leading authority on health insurance and financial planning. Yeniré, we know that health plans are undergoing many changes this year. We know that this year, more than ever, people should work with an insurance professional to ensure they have the best health plan at the best price, and that failing to do so can have extremely negative consequences.
To prevent people from losing their insurance and overpaying, you mentioned that people need to take three steps. What are those three steps?
Yenniree:That’s right, Carlos, there are three steps that seem simple but are necessary. Number one is to review your application or contact an agent. We always tell people that it’s best to find an expert who can help them review their application and access it, because if we don’t update the information, there will be many changes.
So, number one is going to be to log into the application, review it, or contact a specialist. Number two, which is even more important, is to update your information. What information?
If you move, update your address and change your zip code, because plan changes depend heavily on that. It’s not the same for someone who lives in zip code 34744, for example, and then moves to another county, 32837. Even though we’re close, the plans will vary. They’ll vary depending on the zip code, which is why it’s so important for people to check.
Perhaps the plan is more expensive in the zip code where I used to live than in the new zip code I’m moving to. If I don’t update my information, if I don’t check that, then I’m going to overpay for my health insurance, even though I’m getting a discount for changing zip codes. So, changing my address is really important, as is checking my family group and updating it.
There are many people who, for example, have a baby—we have a couple who now have a baby, and the baby has Medicaid. Great, but they don’t report the baby on the application as a family member. So, it’s not the same for a couple earning $40,000 a year as it is for a couple with a dependent earning $40,000 a year.
The tax credit will automatically increase for that dependent. We’re not providing him with coverage, because he already has coverage through Medicaid, but the couple will receive a tax benefit for including the baby in the application. It’s similar to when they file their taxes.
For example, if someone is going to file taxes, and I’m a couple with two children, well, I’m going to file with my husband and my two children. I get a tax benefit for claiming my children, right? The same thing happens with applying for health insurance.
I’m not asking for coverage for the baby, because he already has coverage through another program, Medicaid, but I do have to include him. For example, a couple earning $40,000 a year could receive an $800 tax credit, just to give an example. But if I indicate on the application that the same couple has a baby, instead of receiving $800, they will now receive a $1,000 tax credit.
There’s a big difference when we add family members to the Obamacare application. So that’s another thing we have to do when we update our information, and we also have to update our income. It’s not the same for someone who previously earned maybe $40,000 but for some reason their income dropped and now earns $35,000.
There’s going to be a pretty drastic change in the tax credit she was receiving, which will help pay her monthly health insurance premium. So, there are three important things we need to review. That’s the second step, but we need to review those three important things to update it.
If there’s a change of address, an update to the family group, and in addition, if there’s a change in income, the third step is to thoroughly review the insurance and any changes it has undergone. For example, many people have a health plan and are accustomed to it; they don’t want to change because their doctor accepts it.
But if that doctor suddenly refuses to see you, or if they’ve left the insurance network, it doesn’t matter if the insurance company has the exact same name; they won’t treat you. So, it’s really important for people to carefully review their plan and see what the best option will be for next year. So, we have those three steps.
Number one, log into the app or contact an agent—which is my recommendation—a specialist and professional in the insurance field, update your personal information, and review the plan in detail to see if it will work exactly the same as next year. Now, what’s happening? As you mentioned, there are many changes.
All the plans changed. When we say all the plans changed, we mean they changed completely. Someone who had a Silver plan, for example, and whose maximum Out-of-Pocket limit was $2,300, now has $3,000.
So, these are changes that are happening across all plans. Regardless of the company name, all companies have also increased co-payments, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and even emergency room fees. Some companies that had a fixed emergency room co-payment will no longer have it.
So, if I want to stay with the same company but have a fixed co-payment, I need to find another option. That’s why each company has many plans available so people can choose the one that best suits them. For example, I have a company, and my current plan doesn’t have a fixed co-payment for the emergency room.
I can stay with the same insurance company, but I’d like to find another option that offers a fixed co-payment in the emergency room, which is what I’m concerned about. I mean, I want all my services to have fixed co-payments. That’s what we’re doing right now: reviewing the options and evaluating which one best suits my needs.
Some people aren’t concerned about that option; they’re more worried about lab tests, because lab work is what they do most frequently. They have some kind of condition and need to use lab services. Well, we need to find an option with a fixed co-payment at the lab or one that’s free. Many insurance companies offer free lab tests, and that’s what we’re currently evaluating in terms of plans.
Carlos:You already mentioned the three steps. Correct. Does this process take a long time?
Yenniree:It depends on how you do it.
If you do it alone, it’s obviously going to take a long time, a very long time. I mean, we don’t know, it could take days. Why? Because then you have to check with the doctors, call each doctor. Normally, what the client does is call the doctors. Do you accept this plan? No. Okay, and do you accept this one? So we already have a doctor who accepts one plan, but not another.
And evaluating that takes us a lot of time. In addition, we don’t fully understand medications and co-payments. Many clients don’t understand the difference between a deductible and an out-of-pocket maximum. So they get carried away by one number when what really matters is the other, the out-of-pocket maximum.
And that’s how it’s going to take them a long time. For example, getting into the application without knowing how the Marketplace system works—an application that might take us, at Cerda, five minutes—could take a client without that experience 20 or 30 minutes.
We’re already talking about days spent searching, calling doctors, verifying information, medications, plus all the time it will take to complete the application. If you make a mistake, you won’t receive the tax credit, and you might have to call the insurance marketplace. A call to the insurance marketplace could take 30, 40 minutes, or even an hour, depending on the people you’re speaking with and the information you receive about the plans.
However, if you do it with a member of our team, it will take at least 10 minutes. Ten minutes to review the doctors and find the best option. If you call the marketplace, they’ll give you all the options, but keep in mind that there are over 60 plans available. An insurance marketplace representative won’t ask you which doctors you see, what medications you take, or what your actual needs are. They’ll simply present you with two or more options, and you have to choose. They also won’t explain the plan in detail.
What do we do? We analyze the person, their needs, and those of their family. Based on that, we find the best option that meets all their requirements, and we can provide a solution in 10 minutes. 10, 15 minutes, and your consultation is complete.
Carlos:Does this service have any cost?
Yenniree:Good question. The service is completely free. All the consultations you mentioned are completely free, with no obligation.
You can call us; we’ll help you and guide you through everything you need to know—doctors, medications, everything you need to know so you can have the best option for next year. Even if you want to stay with your current plan and continue working with us, we can help you with that too. Many people previously had another company or worked with other companies, moved, and now need to make a change.
Then we can help you with that change, because maybe your agent isn’t in that state. We work in different states, we know how insurance works in different states. Not just here in Florida, we have a presence and are certified in many states across the United States, and most importantly, we work with all the companies.
We know each company’s network because we’ve been working with them for years. We have firsthand knowledge of the companies’ updates because they inform us months in advance, telling us what changes are coming. The client then needs to call to verify if their doctor will actually be available.
We already have that information, that’s why I’m talking about time. The time it takes us will be much faster than doing it on your own. We already know the networks, we know if you maintain the network.
If a company simply tells me, “We’re going to maintain our network,” and you tell me, “No, Genera, I have this doctor in this hospital network,” I know that the company will automatically accept you. That’s why it’s much easier and much faster to do it with an insurance agent. And best of all, you have nothing to lose; the consultation is completely free.
Carlos:The consultation can be in person, by email, by phone, by WhatsApp, or by Zoom. Correct, right?
Yenniree:We have several options. We can provide a quick quote via WhatsApp and send you detailed plan information tailored to your needs. We can also do it by phone. If you’d like a Zoom meeting for more information, we can arrange that. And if you prefer to visit our office, you’re more than welcome. We’ll greet you, offer you coffee, and help you find the best option.
Carlos:Okay, so there you have it, you have no excuse. Work with an insurance professional, especially this year with all the changes to health plans. You don’t want surprises; you want to make sure you have the best plan at the best price, and that you leave with the peace of mind that you’re working with a professional who’s getting you the best option for you and your family. It’s completely free. There’s no excuse not to use these services that Freedom Insurance is offering to the community. Anything else before we go?
Yenniree:Well, don’t be afraid. There are many changes, and they’re for the benefit of everyone—the clients, the agents. We’re here to help you. Just write to us, give us a call, and as I mentioned, we’ll help you without any obligation and find the best option for you and your family. We won’t just sign you up; we’ll be with you throughout the year.
Carlos:In order for the person to have their health insurance effective on January 1st, when does this need to be ready?
Yenniree:We have until December 15th to choose a plan. It sounds like a long time, but believe me, the days are flying by. We’re very busy and we don’t recommend anyone wait until the last minute.
Why? Because the changes aren’t just in prices, tax credits, or companies. There are changes in our agent platforms, so it’s taking us a little longer.
Are we meeting our daily goals? Yes, we are, but some problems can arise at the end. For example, I know that clients aren’t very familiar with these matters, but we have until the last day of the month to register a person, and it takes effect the following day.
When I say until the last day of the month, we’re talking about this month until October 31st. We have until midnight on November 1st to enroll someone, right? Many people get complacent, even agents. I enroll them later. That day, the insurance marketplace platform closed at 10 PM, and no one could enroll anyone after that time. So it might seem like it’s late, but we only find out because the next day many agents called us to say, “No, I went to the insurance marketplace at 10 PM to enroll someone, and it was closed.”
So these things can happen and they can affect customers if we wait until the last minute. That’s why it’s best to do it in advance.
Carlos:What happens if, for some reason, someone can’t register before December 15th and registers after that date? What happens in that case?
Yenniree:Unless the person has an exception, an enrollment period—for example, if they lost Medicaid or employer-sponsored coverage, or even adopted a child—that person’s coverage will be effective from February 1st. If that person didn’t enroll because they ran out of time, missed the deadline, and don’t have any of those three circumstances, most people don’t enroll on time because they think, or perhaps we think, “Well, the open enrollment period starts on November 1st and ends on January 15th. I have until December 30th to enroll.” No, the open enrollment period runs from November 1st to December 15th so that the person’s coverage is effective from January 1st. If they wait until the 16th to enroll, their insurance will begin on February 1st.
Carlos:Wow, it’s possible he might be without insurance for a month.
Yenniree:That’s right, Carlos.
Carlos:Don’t do it on your own. There are too many changes this year. Take advantage of this opportunity and work with the professionals at Genirex. The consultation is completely free. You have nothing to lose. Call 407-344-1228.
And thank you so much for watching this video. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, check out our channel. We’ve already made several videos on this subject, covering all the changes happening this year with medical panels. So go ahead and learn more. If you found this video helpful, please like and share it with someone who could benefit from this information. Remember, here at Freedom Group, we can help you with everything related to accounting, taxes, health insurance, other types of insurance, retirement plans, tax planning, real estate, and many other things.
Have a nice day and God bless you.
SUMMARY
Starting fromJanuary 1, 2026the insurerAetnawill stop offering health plans throughObamacarewhich means that all active policies will expire onDecember 31, 2025In the video,Yennireeexplains that Aetna’s exit will beat the national levelThis is due to several factors: rising medical costs, reduced tax credits, and a more focused strategy onMedicare and private insurance.
Carlosemphasizes the importance of customers taking actionbefore the end of the yearThose who don’t change their plan in time could lose coverage by 2026. Both recommend reviewing notifications sent by the insurer and speaking with a professional to choose an equivalent plan that keeps the same doctor and pharmacy.
Freedom Insuranceoffersfree consultationsin-person or virtual, to help people compare more than60 options per postal codeand find the plan that best suits your needs and budget.
The final recommendation is clear:Don’t wait until the last minuteWith just a 10-minute call to407-344-1228You can secure your medical coverage for 2026 and avoid being left without insurance.
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