Tampa Bay Health Insurance Broker for Families, Workers and Small Businesses
Creative Health Solutions is a health insurance broker for Tampa families, workers and small businesses across the bay. We help people leaving a corporate job, restaurant and gig workers, families who move across county lines, and business owners. We work by phone or Zoom video from our Melbourne office, so you don't need to come in. Help is available in Spanish.
Book a call, we compare your options, we apply together. There's no cost to talk to us and no broker fees.
Health insurance in Tampa Bay: more options than you think
Picture a financial analyst in downtown Tampa. Her last day at the bank is circled on the kitchen calendar. There's a client list, a home office to set up, a first invoice to send. Health insurance sits near the bottom. And so the question shows up late: when the work badge goes back, what covers the kids?
Moments like that happen all over Tampa Bay. Someone leaves a desk job to work for themselves, picks up a second job, or moves from Brandon to Clearwater. The old plan ends and a decision starts. The catch: the first plan you're offered, COBRA or a renewal notice, often isn't the only one, and sometimes it's still the right one. Here's what we compare for health insurance in Tampa, FL (more detail on our individual and family health insurance in Florida page):
- ACA Marketplace plans (Obamacare). Plans on HealthCare.gov, where you may get a tax credit based on your income. Here's how Marketplace tax credits work.
- Private plans, including PPOs. Plans sold directly by insurance companies.
- Family plans. One plan for the whole household, where it fits.
- Self-employed options. Coverage built around income you earn on your own.
In Hillsborough County, about 260,000 people picked a Marketplace plan for 2026, and most of them used an agent or broker.
Source: CMS, 2026 Open Enrollment Period County-Level Public Use File. Hillsborough County: 260,235 plan selections, 223,966 (86%) through an agent or broker.
Florida also has private association plans, which pool low-risk individuals together and can lower costs. Qualifying varies, and the whole family can join. Results vary. Savings are not guaranteed.
Popular private-plan options our clients ask us to compare include Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and networks such as PHCS (MultiPlan) and First Health. What's open to you depends on where you live and your situation.
Who we help around Tampa Bay
Finance, insurance and office workers who go freelance
Tampa is a big office town. Citigroup has about 10,800 local employees, Raymond James about 6,556, JPMorgan Chase about 6,200, Deloitte about 5,896 and Progressive about 5,000 (Hillsborough County FY2025 financial report, p. 221). Leave a job like that to consult, and the work plan usually ends. We compare your options with your new income in mind. For COBRA questions, see our FAQ page.
Restaurant, hospitality and gig workers
Bloomin' Brands is headquartered here, with about 5,000 local employees. Changing hours and tips mean changing income. Marketplace help is based on your estimate for the whole year, and we help you make it. More on income that changes.
Small businesses (1 to 100+ employees)
Small business health insurance in Tampa starts with your crew. We help any business, 1 to 100+ employees. Florida's small-group market is legally 1 to 50. We look at MEWAs first, then level-funded plans and PEOs, and we can help if one is the right option for your team. Small-group plans can start any month. See small business group health insurance.
Families
One plan for the whole household can keep things simple, when it fits. See our family plans. We can help people turning 65 compare Medicare options, too.
Tampa Bay hospitals: check the network first
BayCare Health System is one of the area's largest employers. Tampa General Hospital has about 12,400 employees, HCA West Florida about 21,000, AdventHealth West Florida about 12,000 and Moffitt Cancer Center about 9,500 (same county report).
Each plan has its own network, and networks can change every year. We check your doctors and hospitals with you before you apply. Here's how to check if your doctor is in-network.
One more red flag: you might live in Pinellas and work in Tampa. Your plan follows your home address. So we ask where you live, where you work, and where you'd actually go for care.
Serving Tampa Bay from our Melbourne office
We're based in Melbourne, Florida, on the other side of the state, and we help Tampa Bay families and businesses by phone or Zoom video. You don't need to come in. Prefer Spanish? Alex Guerrero, a newer broker on our team, speaks Spanish.
Searching for a health insurance agent in Tampa, FL? A good one tells you when the plan you have is still the right one.
Darius Mills, who owns Creative Health Solutions, is licensed in all 50 states, and our team helps people all over Florida. Together we bring over 10 years of combined experience. There's no cost to talk to us and no broker fees.
Creative Health SolutionsOur Melbourne office: 51 NW Carolina St #104, Melbourne, FL 32904
(321) 872-4940
Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM; after that, by appointment only.
How it works: three simple steps
Book a call, we compare your options, we apply together.
- Book a call. Start with the quote form. Then you'll talk with someone on our team: Darius, Fred, Matthew, Chris or Alex. Meet our team.
- We compare your options. Your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget, side by side.
- We apply together. You choose. We help with the application.
Applications are often approved within 24 hours, and coverage can start as soon as the 1st of the month. On Marketplace plans, that's during open enrollment or a qualifying special enrollment period. That timing isn't promised.
When you can sign up
Florida uses HealthCare.gov. Open enrollment for 2027 runs Nov 1, 2026 to Jan 15, 2027. Enroll by Dec 15 for coverage that starts Jan 1, or Dec 16 to Jan 15 for coverage that starts Feb 1. See the 2027 open enrollment dates.
Leaving a job? Losing coverage can open a special enrollment period, and private options exist outside open enrollment too. Small-group plans can start any month. Here's when coverage starts.
Tampa Bay health insurance FAQ
Can you help me get health insurance in Tampa by phone or video?
Yes. We're based in Melbourne and help Tampa Bay clients by phone or Zoom video, so you don't need to come in. Darius is licensed in all 50 states, and our team helps people across Florida. Help is available in Spanish. There's no cost to talk to us.
Do you help people in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon and the rest of Tampa Bay?
Yes. We help people by phone or Zoom video across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, from Riverview to Clearwater, and the rest of Florida. The plans you can get depend on the county you live in, so we start with your home address.
Will a plan let me use BayCare, Tampa General or Moffitt?
It depends on the plan's network. Each plan has its own network, and networks can change every year. Before you apply, we check your doctors and hospitals with you in the plan's directory, so you know what you're choosing.
I live in Pasco or Pinellas but work in Tampa. Which plans can I get?
Individual plans are based on where you live, not where you work. So you'll see the plans for your home county. Prices can differ between Hillsborough and Pinellas, too. If you're moving within Florida, the plans you can get may change.
I'm leaving a corporate job in Tampa to work for myself. How do I replace my work coverage?
Leaving job coverage can open a special enrollment period. You can compare Marketplace plans, where tax credits are based on your new income, private plans and Florida association plans; qualifying varies. For COBRA questions, see our FAQ page.
My Tampa restaurant has a small crew. Can we offer health insurance?
Often, yes. We look at MEWAs first, then level-funded plans and PEOs, and we can help if one is the right option for your team. Group plans can start any month, and who is eligible depends on the plan.
How many people in Hillsborough County use the Marketplace?
About 260,000 people in Hillsborough County picked a Marketplace plan for 2026, and most of them used an agent or broker, according to CMS. With us, there's no cost to talk and no broker fees.
Ready when you are
A new job, a new chapter, a new address. Whatever changed, you've got options.
Request your free quote, and we'll send you the most up-to-date options for you.
Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM; after that, by appointment only. No cost to talk to us. No broker fees.
Creative Health Solutions