Full transparency

How I get paid, in plain English.

Nobody in this industry wants to publish this page. Here it is anyway, with my license numbers attached to it.

The bottom line

You are never billed by me. Not for the review, not for the enrollment, not for the help two years from now when a claim gets coded wrong.

$0What you ever pay me
5.0Across 199 Google reviews
31States licensed
Independent brokerage — not a call centerLicensed in 31 statesNPN 204928595.0 from 199 Google reviewsYou are never billed by me
The one sentence answer

The insurance carrier pays me a commission that is already built into the plan you buy. You never write me a check, and the plan does not cost you a dollar more because I am on it.

Why this page exists

Almost nobody in this business will tell you how they get paid. That silence is exactly why people assume the worst about insurance agents. So here it is in plain English, on a public page, with my license numbers at the bottom of it.

Does it cost more to use a licensed producer?

No. Rates are filed with each state and the producer commission is baked into that filed rate. Calling the carrier directly does not strip the commission out and hand you a discount. The same plan is the same price. What changes is whether you have somebody whose name and license number you know sitting on your side of the table when something goes wrong.

So what does the free part actually cover?

The comparison, the underwriting questions, the application, the follow up when your ID cards do not show up, the phone call when a claim gets coded wrong, and the review every single year at renewal. There is no consultation fee, no enrollment fee, no broker fee, and no fee of any kind to you. If anyone in this industry asks you for one, that is your signal to walk.

The uncomfortable question, answered honestly

Yes, compensation varies a little between carriers and between product types. Anyone who tells you it is identical across the board is lying to you. Here is how I handle that: I quote what fits the household, I tell you what I am recommending and why, and I show you the trade offs of the cheaper option next to it. You see the same information I see. And if the right answer for you is a plan I cannot place, or staying exactly where you are, I will tell you that and I will not send you an invoice for the honesty.

What I will never do

I will not sell, rent, or trade your contact information. You will not be dropped onto a lead list and dialed by six strangers in an hour. One licensed person calls you, once, and if you say no thanks that is genuinely the end of it.

What you get at no cost

  • A side by side comparison of what you actually qualify for
  • Straight answers on underwriting before you apply
  • The full application walked through with you
  • Help when a card, a bill, or a claim goes sideways
  • A renewal review every year, whether or not you move

What you will never be charged

  • Consultation or advisory fees
  • Application or enrollment fees
  • Broker or service fees
  • Cancellation or switching fees
  • Anything at all, at any point, ever

How to verify any of this — about us or about anyone else

A page claiming to be transparent is worth very little unless you can check it. Every row below is something you can independently verify about any licensed producer in the country, including us, in a few minutes and at no cost.

What to verifyHow to check it yourself
That the person is actually licensedEvery producer has a National Producer Number and a licence in each state where they sell. Ask for both and look them up with the state insurance department. Ours are published on this site rather than on request.
That using a producer does not raise your priceIndividual health rates are filed with state regulators, and the producer commission is inside the filed rate. Ask the carrier directly what the same plan costs without a producer — it is the same number.
Whether they are independent or captiveAsk how many carriers they are appointed with. One means you are being shown one company’s shelf regardless of what fits you.
Whether they will discuss options they cannot sell youThe clearest test there is. A producer who will not tell you when the government marketplace is your better answer is optimising for their outcome rather than yours.
What happens after you enrolAsk who you call in March when a claim is denied. Ask whether you get the same person. A commission is paid for the year, not the phone call, so the answer tells you a lot.
Where to complain if it goes wrongYour state department of financial services or insurance regulator takes consumer complaints about licensed producers. That route exists precisely because the licence exists — and it does not exist for products that are not insurance.
The question we would ask a competitor“Tell me about a time you sent a prospect to the marketplace instead of selling them a policy.” If there is no answer to that question, you have learned what you needed to know.

This table describes how these options generally work, with regulatory points cited to the sources below. It is not a quote, it is not specific to any one company, and rules vary by state and by plan. Confirm the details against the actual plan documents and your own plan administrator.

The 2026 backdrop, in four numbers

The enhanced premium tax credits expired going into 2026. Whatever route you take, these are the conditions you are taking it in.

  • $113 → $178Average monthly premium actually paid after tax credits, up 58%.[1]
  • $2,759 → $3,786Average marketplace deductible, up 37% in one year.[1]
  • 7% vs 48%Households above the subsidy cliff were 7% of 2025 enrollment and nearly half the drop.[1]
  • 4,538,772Floridians who selected a 2026 marketplace plan, down 196,643.[2]

Why the incentive question matters more in 2026

When the enhanced premium tax credits expired, a large group of people saw their costs jump and started shopping in a hurry. The average premium actually paid rose 58%, from $113 to $178 a month, and deductibles rose 37% to $3,786.[1] Households above the subsidy cliff were only about 7% of 2025 enrollment but nearly 48% of the decline.[1]

Urgency plus confusion is the exact condition in which bad products are sold well. That is not an argument for distrusting producers; it is an argument for checking the ones you deal with, which is what the table above is for.

The one thing we will not do

Tell you a private policy is your best option when it is not. If your household income puts a premium tax credit within reach — under 400% of the federal poverty level, $62,600 for one person or $128,600 for a family of four[4] — or if you have a condition that needs ongoing treatment, the marketplace is usually the better answer and you will hear that from us plainly, even though it is not what we sell.

Straight answers

The questions people actually ask.

Do I pay you anything to work with you?

No. Not for the consultation, not for the comparison, not for the enrollment, and not for the help afterward. The carrier pays the producer commission and that commission is already inside the filed rate of the plan.

Is it cheaper if I go straight to the carrier instead?

No. The commission is built into the filed rate whether a licensed producer is involved or not. Going direct does not remove it from the price. It just removes the person who would have caught the problem for you.

Are you paid more on some plans than others?

Compensation does vary somewhat by carrier and by product type. I will not pretend otherwise. What I do about it is show you the alternatives next to my recommendation, including the cheaper ones, and explain the actual trade off so you are choosing rather than being steered.

What if the best option is something you cannot sell?

Then I say so. That happens most often when someone qualifies for a large subsidy on a marketplace plan. If a subsidized plan beats what I can place for your household, I will tell you that on the first call.

Do you charge a fee if I decide not to enroll?

No. There is no fee for the review, no fee for the comparison, and no fee for deciding to stay exactly where you are.

What happens after I enroll? Do you disappear?

No. You get my direct line. Billing questions, ID cards, provider network questions, claim problems, and the annual renewal review all come back to me. That continuing service is the part the commission is actually paying for.

Sources

Figures and rules on this page last verified against the primary sources on August 13, 2026

  1. KFF, “What We Know So Far About 2026 ACA Marketplace Enrollment, Premiums, and Deductibles.” Published May 19, 2026; updated July 15, 2026. kff.org
  2. KFF State Health Facts, “Marketplace Enrollment Snapshot for Open Enrollment 2026,” from the CMS Marketplace 2026 Open Enrollment Period Report: National Snapshot, January 28, 2026. kff.org
  3. Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, “How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2026.” Updated January 15, 2026. healthsystemtracker.org
  4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, annual update of the HHS poverty guidelines. aspe.hhs.gov
  5. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, “An Employee’s Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA.” dol.gov
  6. Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form 7206, Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction. irs.gov

Scotty Jaymes Insurance is a private, independent insurance agency. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any government agency, the federal Medicare or Medicaid programs, or any state or federal health insurance marketplace including Healthcare.gov. Regulatory summaries are general information, current as at the verification date shown, and are not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state and by plan. Plan availability, benefits and pricing vary by state and by applicant.

Want the real number for your household?

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Other things worth knowing.

Licensed producer

NPN 20492859
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Home state license

FL W913263
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Where I can write

31 States

Under-65 coverage only. We do not sell Medicare.

What clients say

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