How Alabama home builders are handling a 21% jump in health insurance prices

Sam Jaber, Licensed Health Insurance Advisor · Updated October 2026 · Last reviewed October 1, 2026

NPN 20698748 · Licensed in Alabama and in more than 30 states in total · Licensing details

Short answer: If your home closings this year keep your household earnings within the tax credit limits, HealthCare.gov will generally be your most affordable option. But if business is strong and your income goes over the cutoff, you're facing full-price premiums after an average 21.1% increase. Healthy builders may find better pricing through medically underwritten coverage with a nationwide PPO network. A quick conversation can help us determine which route fits your numbers.

• My closings leave room for a credit
• A strong year put me over
• Over the line and healthy
• Someone needs ongoing care
• My job plan or COBRA is ending
• Not sure yet

When you're building homes in Alabama, money doesn't necessarily come in every month. On a custom build, you receive construction-loan draws as the lender's inspector approves completed stages. With a spec home, you may not collect anything until the property sells, when the proceeds arrive together at closing. Meanwhile, you're paying for the land, building supplies, and subcontractors. On top of all those expenses, you're responsible for paying your own health insurance premium.

Health insurance became considerably more expensive in 2026. Alabama saw an average increase of approximately 21.1% for full-price coverage. For a 40-year-old, the monthly cost of the benchmark silver plan climbed from $535 to $645.

The first thing we need to figure out is this: based on the houses you expect to close this year, will your household earnings qualify you for a HealthCare.gov premium tax credit? Your answer determines which of the sections below you should focus on.

When this year's closings keep you in credit range

In Alabama, you purchase marketplace coverage through HealthCare.gov, and only plans offered through that marketplace can receive the premium tax credit. If your total household earnings fall within the qualifying range for the year, you'll generally find your most affordable health insurance among those marketplace plans.

For homebuilders, when a sale closes can change everything. Imagine a spec home closing in late December rather than early January. That shifts the entire sale into the current year. If the resulting household income exceeds 400% of the poverty level, or $63,840 for one person for 2027 coverage ($62,600 for 2026), your tax credit disappears for the year. Any advance credits you've received are then settled on your tax return without a repayment cap. Ask your tax preparer how those closing dates affect your accounting.

Keep track throughout the year of the homes you've already closed and the ones still under contract. Once you know a sale is going through, revise your income estimate on HealthCare.gov instead of putting it off until you file your taxes.

When a strong year puts you past the line

If you're above the subsidy cutoff, you absorb that entire 21.1% increase. A 40-year-old buying the benchmark plan now pays $110 more each month than in 2025, adding up to another $1,320 annually. Premiums also increase as you get older. For example, a 50-year-old in a typical Alabama county pays nearly $900 monthly for the same benchmark coverage. If both spouses are 50, their combined premium approaches $1,800 a month.

These statewide averages and county figures use individual ages, not personalized quotes. Your actual premium varies by age, location, household and coverage.

For a lot of builders earning above the subsidy limit, premiums at that level become difficult to manage, especially while their money is tied up in a property waiting to sell. Whether another coverage option makes sense largely comes down to their health.

Past the line and in good health

Healthy home builders can also consider medically underwritten private coverage outside HealthCare.gov, using PPO provider networks that extend nationwide.

When you apply, the insurance company asks about your health and reviews those answers before deciding whether to accept you, reject the application, or offer coverage that excludes an existing condition. Unlike marketplace plans, which must enroll all eligible applicants, these insurers select the people they cover. That difference can allow healthier applicants to receive premiums below Alabama's full marketplace rates. With a nationwide PPO network, you may also have access to participating doctors when visiting family or seeing specialists in Atlanta, Nashville, or elsewhere across the country.

Benefits differ between plans, so check exactly what's covered before enrolling. Our explainer on medical underwriting explains how applications work.

Compare the medically underwritten quote for your household directly against what those same people would pay through the marketplace without credits.

Past the line and dealing with a health condition

If you or someone else in your household has an ongoing medical condition, that doesn't necessarily eliminate private coverage as an option. It depends on the condition and the plan's requirements. Sam Jaber can review your circumstances and help you compare both possibilities before deciding.

For 2026, Alabama's marketplace has four participating insurers, including one that joined this year. Your county determines which of those companies' plans are available to you. Whether you consider marketplace or private coverage, make sure your doctors participate and your prescriptions are included before enrolling.

When a job plan or COBRA is coming to an end

Maybe you've recently left a bigger homebuilding company to start taking projects on yourself. Or perhaps you're continuing coverage through COBRA from your previous job, but that benefit is about to expire. Either situation leaves you with a deadline for replacing your existing health insurance.

Alabama gives workers at smaller companies fewer options for extending coverage than many other states. Federal COBRA protections generally apply to employers with at least 20 employees. Alabama is also among the states that have no continuation law of its own for smaller businesses. So if you leave a small homebuilding company, your employer-sponsored insurance will usually terminate when your employment ends.

When your employer coverage ends, including when COBRA expires, you receive a 60-day opportunity to enroll through HealthCare.gov. If you expect your first year working for yourself to qualify for premium tax credits, begin with the marketplace. If your earnings will be too high and you're healthy, consider submitting a medically underwritten application before your existing plan expires, since the insurer must approve you before coverage can begin.

Find your row

All rows lead to a quick conversation. Your household details and closing schedule provide answers faster than studying a comparison chart.

If you'd like more information about coverage rules in your state, read the Alabama guide for self-employed buyers. Contractors and remodelers across the border are dealing with similar challenges, and here is how Tennessee contractors are handling it.

Questions Alabama builders ask