Self-employed? Retiring early? Between jobs, or covering a family and tired of guessing what your plan actually pays? I'm Daniel Faiella, an independent licensed insurance agent in Carson City. I help Northern Nevadans compare under-65 health coverage and the income-protection pieces around it — hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision, hearing, and critical illness — so one bad year doesn't become a financial one. My help costs you $0.
Under 65, self-employed, retiring early, or covering a family — this is the coverage puzzle I help you solve, piece by piece.
If an employer hands you a benefits packet every fall, you may never need this page. Everyone else — self-employed contractors and small-business owners from Reno to Gardnerville, families buying their own coverage, early retirees bridging the gap to Medicare, and people between jobs — has to assemble health protection on their own. That's the work I do every week as a health insurance broker serving Carson City, Reno, and the rest of Northern Nevada.
For most people buying their own coverage, the starting point is the individual health insurance marketplace, where plans are organized into metal tiers and income-based subsidies can meaningfully lower the premium. To be clear about my role: I'm not a government navigator or employee — I'm an independent licensed agent. My job is to help you understand how the moving parts work, compare what's available to you from every angle, and make sure whatever you pick actually covers your doctors and your prescriptions before you commit.
And the health plan is only half the picture. Deductibles have grown, and no health plan replaces the income you lose when you can't work. That's why this page also covers the protection pieces most people never hear about until it's too late — hospital indemnity, disability, and critical illness coverage.
As an independent agent I'm not captive to any one company — we compare options from A+ rated carriers and build coverage around your life, not a sales quota.
Two neighbors of this topic worth knowing about: long-term care planning, which covers extended help with daily living that health insurance never pays for, and life insurance, which finishes the income-protection picture for the people who depend on you.
The gap between your last employer paycheck and your first Medicare card is the most common coverage puzzle I see in Northern Nevada.
Route one: COBRA. You can usually keep your exact employer plan for a limited time — same doctors, same deductible progress — but you pay the full premium plus an administrative fee, and the sticker shock is real. COBRA buys continuity; it rarely buys value for the whole gap.
Route two: the marketplace. Here's the counterintuitive part — early retirement often means your taxable income drops, and lower income can mean larger premium subsidies. Many early retirees find marketplace coverage costs far less than COBRA once the subsidy math is done. We run that math before you decide anything.
Route three: other private coverage — and sometimes a mix, such as a marketplace plan plus a hospital indemnity policy to blunt the deductible. Then, as 65 approaches, we handle the transition to Medicare on time and penalty-free. If that decision is already on your horizon, start with my plain-English guide to Medicare Advantage vs. Supplement in Nevada.
Four products people confuse constantly. Each pays differently, triggers differently, and suits a different person — here's the plain-English version:
| Product | What it pays | When it pays | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital indemnity | A fixed cash amount per hospital day or admission, paid directly to you | When you're admitted to the hospital; some plans add ER, ambulance, or observation benefits | Filling high deductibles on health plans — and out-of-pocket costs on Medicare Advantage plans |
| Short-term care | Benefits toward home care, assisted living, or nursing care, typically up to about a year | When you need help recovering — triggers work much like long-term care coverage | Recovery care, and older applicants who can no longer qualify for traditional long-term care insurance |
| Disability insurance | A monthly benefit replacing a portion of your income | When illness or injury keeps you from working, after a waiting period — short-term, long-term, or both | Working people, especially the self-employed, whose paycheck stops the day they do |
| Critical illness | A one-time lump-sum cash benefit | At first diagnosis of a covered condition such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke | Protecting savings from what a major diagnosis really costs — deductibles, travel, time off work |
This page is educational, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Benefits, waiting periods, exclusions, and underwriting vary by carrier and policy — we'll read the actual policy language together before you buy anything.
A health plan protects you from big medical bills. But your paycheck is what pays every other bill — and it deserves protection too.
— Daniel J. FaiellaNetworks and plan availability change by county and by year — what works in Washoe County may not exist in Douglas or Lyon.
A plan that looks great online is worthless if Carson Tahoe, Renown, Carson Valley Health, or Barton Health isn't in its network, or if your prescriptions land on the wrong tier at your pharmacy in Minden or Dayton. Before you enroll in anything, I check your exact doctors, hospital, and medications against what's actually offered in your ZIP code — and because I live here, you get the same local person at renewal time and at claim time, year after year.
Health insurance help near you:
No. Like most independent agents, I am paid a commission by the insurance company you enroll with, and your premium is the same whether you enroll through me or on your own. You get plan comparisons, plain-English explanations, and local year-round service at no cost.
I am an independent licensed agent, not a government employee or navigator. I can help you understand how marketplace coverage works — metal tiers, provider networks, and how income-based subsidies affect your premium — and compare those options against everything else available to you, so whatever you enroll in, you do it with your eyes open.
It is a policy that pays you a fixed cash amount — per hospital admission or per day — regardless of what your health plan pays. People pair it with high-deductible health plans or Medicare Advantage plans, where a hospital stay can mean significant out-of-pocket costs. Because the cash comes straight to you, you can put it toward the deductible, the mortgage, or anything else your household needs.
Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income when illness or injury keeps you from working. Self-employed people need it most — no employer sick pay, no group disability plan — and coverage can be designed short-term, long-term, or both. The younger and healthier you are when you apply, the better the pricing, so it pays to look before you need it.
You generally have three routes: continue your employer plan through COBRA for a limited time, buy an individual marketplace plan — where income-based subsidies can make coverage surprisingly affordable once your paycheck stops — or look at other private options. The right bridge depends on your doctors, medications, and retirement income. Then at 65 we handle the switch to Medicare together, on time and penalty-free.
Often, yes. Most adult health plans include little or no dental, vision, or hearing coverage, and those bills add up fast — crowns, glasses, hearing aids. Standalone plans are inexpensive relative to what they cover, but the details matter: waiting periods, annual maximums, and networks. We read the fine print together before you sign up.
Kitchen table, coffee shop, or video call. Bring your current plan and your questions — leave knowing exactly what you're covered for and what it would cost to fix the gaps.