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Health Insurance for Physicians in Maryland

Most physicians in Maryland are paid in ways that leave them shopping for their own coverage, whether they work around Baltimore or anywhere else in the state. Most of the ones I work with choose a private plan priced on their health, not their income, that can start any month if approved. Maryland Marketplace premiums are rising 14.6% on average for 2027, so the private option is worth pricing first.

Private health insurance in Maryland

Most physicians I help in Maryland end up on a private plan, not a Marketplace plan. Private, medically underwritten health insurance is priced on your age, zip code and health instead of your income, so a strong year never raises your premium and there is no tax credit to pay back in April.

Why people leave the Marketplace

Premiums keep climbing. Maryland Marketplace premiums are rising 14.6% on average for 2027.
The subsidy cliff. Above 400 percent of the poverty level ($63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four) you pay full price.
Surprise tax bills. Underestimate your income and you repay the tax credit in April.
Narrow networks. Many plans are local HMOs or EPOs that need referrals and cover little outside the area.
High out-of-pocket costs. 2027 out-of-pocket maximums reach $12,000 per person and $24,000 per family.
One window a year. Outside open enrollment you need a qualifying life event to enroll or switch.

What a private plan does differently

Start any month. If approved, coverage can begin the first of next month, with no wait for open enrollment.
Networks that travel. Many private plans use national PPO networks, which can give you in-network doctors outside Maryland too. Networks vary by plan.
Can cost less than full-price Marketplace plans for some healthy applicants above the subsidy line.
Accident coverage the Marketplace does not offer. A private plan can be paired with accident coverage, a separate policy. What it includes varies by plan.
Approval is based on health. You answer health questions, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

With a significant health condition, or income low enough for a large tax credit, a Marketplace plan can be the better fit, and I will tell you if it is. Either way you see both side by side.

Private plans are not ACA Marketplace plans. Benefits, exclusions and pre-existing condition rules differ by plan and by state, so review the plan details before you enroll.

Get a private plan quote

Learn more: coverage not based on income · how underwriting works · private vs Obamacare · PPO plans for individuals · switching from the Marketplace

Maryland health insurance in 2027

Maryland's finalized 2027 individual-market increase averages about 14.6 percent, roughly in line with the national figure, and small-group plans rise about 10.2 percent. Maryland has used a state reinsurance program for years, which keeps its premiums lower than they would otherwise be, but it could not fully absorb 2027's cost pressures.

Marketplace rates: up 14.6% on average for 2027 (final).
Benchmark silver plan, age 40: $491 a month in 2027, up from $414 in 2026.
The subsidy cliff in Maryland: earning $1 over $63,840 costs a single 60-year-old about $5,988 more a year for that plan, and $1 over $86,560 costs a 60-year-old couple about $16,178.
Where to enroll: Maryland Health Connection, the state's own exchange, which sets its own 2027 enrollment dates.

More: Maryland 2027 rate changes · 2027 subsidy cliff by state. General information, not tax advice.

How physicians work in Maryland

In Maryland, the physicians most likely to shop for their own plan are private practice owners, partners and locum tenens or telehealth doctors on 1099 contracts. Many work across state lines. Between July 2019 and mid-2023 the board issued about 1,617 licenses through the interstate compact, and since March 2023 it has licensed physicians from D.C. and Virginia by reciprocity. A locum who holds several state licenses usually has no single employer plan to join. Doctors who leave a hospital job for independent or locum work lose that employer plan and have 60 days to use a special enrollment period.

Maryland licensing for physicians

MD and DO applicants in Maryland go through the Board of Physicians and complete a criminal history records check. Maryland joined the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact effective July 1, 2019, and since 2023 it also licenses doctors from D.C. and Virginia through reciprocity. Unlike Virginia or North Carolina, Maryland requires a state Controlled Dangerous Substances registration from the Office of Controlled Substances Administration before a doctor applies for a DEA registration, and that state registration renews every three years. Prescribers must also register with the state prescription drug monitoring program first.

The Maryland market for physicians

Maryland's Board of Physicians counted about 36,390 active physician licenses in fiscal 2023, including 2,236 DOs, although that total includes doctors who live in other states. Practice is anchored by Baltimore's two large academic medical centers and by the dense Washington suburbs of Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Need still runs deep outside those hubs, with about 2.08 million Marylanders living in one of the state's 78 federal primary care shortage designations; HRSA estimates that clearing them would take 465 more primary care practitioners.

Maryland coverage rules that apply to you

Leaving a job: Maryland requires insured group plans, including those of employers with fewer than 20 workers, to offer up to 18 months of continuation to Maryland residents who leave a job voluntarily or are let go for reasons other than cause after three months of coverage. You have 45 days to elect it and pay the full premium plus up to a 2 percent fee.
Short-term plans: Maryland law limits short-term plans to less than three months with no renewals, which is stricter than the federal rule, so the federal enforcement pause does not change anything in Maryland.
Where to enroll: Maryland runs its own exchange, Maryland Health Connection. Maryland Health Connection sets its own open enrollment dates; check its site for 2027 deadlines. Private, medically underwritten plans can start the first of any month if approved.
2027 rates: individual plans 14.6% on average. See the Maryland 2027 rate page.

Why most independent physicians skip the Marketplace

A practice owner, partner or locum earning a physician's income is far above the 2027 subsidy line, so a Marketplace plan costs full price, and 2027 premiums are rising again in most states. Many Marketplace plans are narrow HMOs or EPOs, and some leave out the very academic centers physicians want for their own families. A private, medically underwritten plan is priced on health instead of income, can start the first of any month if approved, and often uses a national PPO network.

Gaps that catch doctors

The months between residency and the first attending job, the wait for credentialing at a new hospital, a partnership track with delayed benefits and the switch to locum work are the moments physicians go uninsured. Line up a private plan to start the day the old coverage ends.

Owners and partners

A physician who owns a practice can offer staff a small-group plan or an ICHRA and still choose a private plan for the family. Pair any plan with own-occupation disability coverage, which protects the income the practice depends on.

When the Marketplace still makes sense

The Marketplace fits physicians with a significant health condition, because acceptance is guaranteed, and households whose 2027 income stays under 400 percent of the poverty level ($63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four), where a tax credit lowers the price. Above that line it costs full price. The full guide for physicians goes deeper.

Quote for a physician in Maryland

Private plans priced first, with the Marketplace alongside when it fits. No fee.

Get a quote (786) 218-2384

Questions from Maryland physicians

What license do physicians need in Maryland?

How much are Maryland health insurance premiums rising for 2027?

Individual-market premiums in Maryland are set to rise 14.6% on average for 2027. Households above 400 percent of the poverty level get no tax credit and pay the full increase.

What happens to my coverage if I leave a job in Maryland?

Maryland requires insured group plans, including those of employers with fewer than 20 workers, to offer up to 18 months of continuation to Maryland residents who leave a job voluntarily or are let go for reasons other than cause after three months of coverage. You have 45 days to elect it and pay the full premium plus up to a 2 percent fee. Losing employer coverage also opens a 60-day Marketplace special enrollment period, and if approved, a private plan can start the first of any month.

Do employed physicians need their own health insurance?

Usually not while employed, but they often do between residency and an attending job, during credentialing delays, on a partnership track or when moving to locum work.

What health insurance do locum tenens physicians use?

Most buy their own coverage, often a private plan with a national PPO network so it works wherever the assignment is. The Marketplace is the fallback for a physician with a significant health condition.

Sources: www.mbp.state.md.us, data.hrsa.gov, www.mbp.state.md.us, health.maryland.gov. Facts checked October 2026. See all Maryland health insurance rules.

Written by Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance agent in Maryland and 30 other states, NPN 21032307.