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The Detective's notebookPlain-English health insurance guides
By Dick Tracy · New guide most Mondays · Updated August 27, 2026
Everything I write lives here. These are the questions people actually ask me on the phone, answered the way I answer them: what the option is, who it fits, where the trap is, and what I would do in your shoes. Read whatever applies to you. I educate, you decide.
All guides
PPO vs HMO vs EPO vs POS: what is the difference?
One chart, four plan types. Primary care doctor required? Referrals? Out-of-network coverage? Cost? Plus the New York twist and the three questions to ask before you look at a price.
Small businessPre-established ERISA group plans: the New York small-business cheat code
Federal ERISA law overrides community rating, so healthy small businesses and self-employed people can merge into an existing ERISA group for group rates, a true PPO, and a policy they own.
Self-employedSelf-employed with no employees? You are NOT stuck with the marketplace
Myth-buster for solo and 1099 owners who were told the marketplace is their only option. It is not.
Small businessSmall business health insurance in Buffalo: your real options, explained
A traditional small-group plan, merging into a pre-established ERISA group, or customized individual plans, plus how New York's community rating changes the math.
Plans explainedThe four buckets of health coverage, explained in plain English
The four ways Americans under 65 get covered, what each does well, where the holes are (health shares are not insurance), and how to combine them.
2026 changesThe 2026 ACA subsidy cliff: why marketplace premiums jumped (and what to do)
How the 400% FPL subsidy cliff works, why premiums jumped in 2026, and what to do if you are over the line.
StrategyThe “build a house” strategy: how to leave with a check, not a bill
How to combine coverage types so you handle the everyday costs and the catastrophic costs separately.
Plans explainedThe unlimited-copay PPO (the “Cadillac plan”) nobody shows you
The private underwritten PPO where in-network care is capped at copays with no coinsurance, who qualifies, who it is not for, and why most brokers never show it.
Free tools
🧮 2026 Subsidy Cliff Calculator
60 seconds: are you over the line, and by how much?
✅ What health insurance can I get? Quiz
5 questions, 60 seconds, answers never leave your browser.
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