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Retiring before 65?
Bridge the gap to Medicare.
See private plans that can cover you from your last day of work until Medicare begins, in one call with a licensed agent.
Keep your doctors See any specialist Apply any month No lock-in
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Why people choose PPO plans
Skip the insurance jargon. Here's what a PPO actually gets you:
Keep the doctors you already have
Give the agent your doctors' names. They check that each one takes the plan before you enroll.
See a specialist without a referral
No gatekeeper, no permission slip. If you need a back doctor or a heart doctor, you book the visit.
Know your costs before you go
Many plans use flat copays for everyday visits, so you know the price walking in, not after the bill.
Coverage that travels with you
Broad nationwide networks work at home, across state lines, and when you move.
Plan details vary by carrier, plan, and state: a licensed agent can confirm what applies to you.
More choice within your plan's network
Choose your own doctors and specialists within the plan's network. Some private PPO options use nationwide carrier networks.
Network size varies by plan and state.
Missed open enrollment? You still have options.
Private PPO plans have no enrollment window.
When do you need coverage to start?
Already without coverage, or about to be? Ask what you may qualify for and which start dates may be available.
Coverage often starts the next day.
These private plans are medically underwritten: approval is not guaranteed, and how a plan treats pre-existing conditions varies. A licensed agent can tell you what you qualify for.
Comprehensive ACA marketplace plans are generally available only during the annual open enrollment period or a special enrollment period; visit healthcare.gov for details. Cancellation terms vary by carrier and plan.
Tell the agent when your coverage ends, or that it has already ended.
Talk to a licensed agent now(833) 350-6449Free · No obligation · Mon-Fri, 9 AM to 6 PM ET
From call to covered, minute by minute
When a plan fits, you can go from hello to enrolled in one call, in as little as 10-15 minutes.
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Minute 0
Call and say what you need
A licensed agent picks up. Lost coverage, missed a deadline, leaving a job: start wherever you are.
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Minute 1
Answer a few quick questions
Your age, zip, the doctors you want to keep, and a monthly budget that feels doable. About 3 minutes.
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Minute 4
They search while you hold
A short hold while they pull up the plans you qualify for.
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Compare your options
They walk you through real plans with real prices. They can check that your exact doctors are in network, by name.
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Minute 15
Enroll before you hang up
E-sign from a text link on your phone. Digital ID cards often arrive by email the same day, and coverage can start as soon as the next day.
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Plans from top carriers
Availability varies by state and product; plans are not available in all states.
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Everything you share travels over an encrypted connection.
Comparing plans costs nothing and you decide if you enroll.
Coverage is offered through licensed agents: SPARKM LLC with Champion Benefits Group, National Producer Number 20874871. View licensing details
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The gap, explained
Retire before 65 and you hit a gap most people never have to think about: your employer coverage ends with your job, and Medicare eligibility begins at 65 for most people. Retire at 62 and that is roughly three years of health coverage you have to arrange yourself. The gap is the entire problem this page is about.
The gap is bridgeable, and people bridge it every day, but it rewards planning. The coverage routes available to you, and what they cost, depend on when you retire, your health history, your income in retirement, and how many months you need to cover. A bridge plan chosen in a rush after coverage has already ended is usually a worse deal than one lined up before your last day of work.
One date to know before we go further: leaving your job and losing its coverage is a qualifying life event, and it starts clocks. Marketplace special enrollment generally runs about 60 days from losing coverage, and the COBRA election window is also time-limited. Whatever route you choose, choose it while your windows are open.
Four ways to bridge the gap to Medicare
COBRA. You can usually continue your employer plan for up to 18 months after leaving. It keeps your exact network, deductible progress, and coverage for treatment already underway, at the full premium plus an administrative fee. The arithmetic problem is the calendar: 18 months bridges a retirement at 63 and a half, but not one at 62.
A spouse's employer plan. If your spouse still works and their employer offers coverage, losing your own plan generally lets you join theirs outside its normal enrollment period. Often the simplest and steadiest bridge when it is available.
The ACA marketplace. Losing job-based coverage opens a special enrollment period at healthcare.gov. Marketplace plans accept every applicant regardless of health history and cover pre-existing conditions, and premium help is available for households that qualify based on income, which for many retirees living on savings is worth checking carefully.
A private underwritten plan. Sold directly by carriers through licensed agents, typically available any month of the year, and often built on PPO networks, which matters to people who want to keep long-time doctors. The trade-off is medical underwriting: health questions, no guaranteed approval, and pre-existing conditions generally excluded or limited. Our private PPO page explains the underwriting process in full.
Read this before you call
Private underwritten plans fit some early retirees very well and are the wrong product for others, and health history is usually the deciding line. Here is the honest version.
Often a good fit if you are:
- ✓Generally healthy and retiring early by choice
- ✓Facing a gap longer than COBRA's 18 months
- ✓Set on keeping long-time doctors, and want a broad PPO network checked against their names
- ✓Expecting retirement income too high for meaningful marketplace premium help
Probably not the right fit if you:
- ✗Manage ongoing conditions that need covered treatment now
- ✗Have had a recent major diagnosis, surgery, or hospitalization
- ✗Need coverage that cannot turn you down based on health history
If any of those describe you, the honest answer is your marketplace special enrollment period at healthcare.gov, or COBRA if you are mid-treatment and the months work. Marketplace plans accept applicants regardless of health history and cover pre-existing conditions.
Health history matters more in this decision than in almost any other insurance shopping you will do. Telling you this up front saves everyone a phone call, and if a private plan is not the right tool, an agent will say so.
Timing your coverage to Medicare
A bridge plan has a known destination: Medicare, for most people at 65. That makes month-to-month flexibility genuinely valuable here. Many private plans have no long-term lock-in, so coverage can be kept exactly as long as the gap lasts and ended when Medicare begins. Cancellation terms vary by carrier and plan, so confirm them before you enroll rather than after.
Enrollment in Medicare itself has its own windows around your 65th birthday, and they are your responsibility even while a bridge plan is in place. The rules live at medicare.gov, and it is worth a calendar reminder a few months ahead of 65.
One planning detail catches couples: coverage is per person, and so is Medicare. If your spouse is younger, your reaching 65 does not cover them, and a bridge plan that covers you both today becomes their individual plan question when you transition. Raise the ages of everyone who needs coverage on the call, and the agent can structure around both timelines.
Early retirement health insurance FAQs
Can I get health insurance if I retire at 62?
Yes, and you have the same four routes as any early retiree: COBRA for up to about 18 months, a working spouse's employer plan, a marketplace plan through your special enrollment period, or a private underwritten plan if you are generally healthy. At 62 the gap is roughly three years, which is longer than COBRA lasts, so most people at that age end up comparing the marketplace and private routes for at least part of the bridge.
When does Medicare start, exactly?
For most people, eligibility begins at 65, with an initial enrollment window around the 65th birthday. Some people qualify earlier through disability. The authoritative rules and dates are at medicare.gov; nothing about your bridge plan changes them.
Is COBRA enough to bridge the gap?
Do the subtraction: COBRA usually lasts up to 18 months, so it fully bridges a retirement within about a year and a half of your 65th birthday. Retire earlier than that and COBRA is a first leg, not a bridge, and it is often the most expensive leg, since you pay the entire premium plus a fee. Plenty of early retirees use COBRA for continuity through active treatment and then move to a different plan for the remaining months.
What if I have health conditions?
Then the marketplace is very likely your answer, and we would rather tell you that here than after a phone call. Private plans in this market are medically underwritten: applicants with significant conditions can be declined or offered coverage that excludes those conditions. Marketplace plans at healthcare.gov accept every applicant regardless of health history and cover pre-existing conditions, and losing job coverage opens your enrollment window.
What happens to my younger spouse when I turn 65?
Your Medicare covers only you. A younger spouse keeps needing their own coverage until their own 65th birthday, whether that is the plan you shared during the bridge or a new individual plan of their own. Structure the bridge with both timelines in view from the start; it is much easier than re-shopping under time pressure the month you transition.
Can I keep my doctors after I retire?
This is a network question, and it is checkable before you commit. PPO plans are the type most often chosen by people set on keeping specific doctors, because their networks are typically broader. On the call, give the agent your doctors' names and have each one checked against the specific plan's network before you enroll. Networks vary by carrier, plan, and state, so verify rather than assume.
About this service
This page connects you with licensed insurance agents; calls are answered by licensed insurance agencies, not by this website's operator. You can review licensing details and the companies involved at any time. Comparing plans is free and carries no obligation.
Last reviewed: August 2026