Few American cities have added residents as fast as Port St. Lucie over the past two decades. Growth on that scale means two big insurance populations: construction and trades workers building the housing, and pre-Medicare arrivals from the Northeast who left employer coverage behind when they moved. Both groups shop the individual market, and Florida gives that market more room than most states do.
The rules here
| Max initial term (short-term) | Less than 12 months |
| Max total duration | 36 months (Fla. Stat. 627.6426) |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, short-term, extended short-term, fixed indemnity, supplemental |
| Exchange type | Federal marketplace (HealthCare.gov) |
| Medicaid expansion | No |
What's available in Port St. Lucie
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | Yes | Initial term under 12 months | Short-term |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | Yes | Up to 36 months total | Extended plans |
| Fixed indemnity | Yes | Pays set cash amounts, not a substitute for major medical | Fixed indemnity |
| Supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) | Yes | Pairs with other coverage | Accident · Critical illness · Dental · Vision |
Short-term and fixed indemnity plans are not ACA compliant and do not count as minimum essential coverage. They are medically underwritten and typically exclude pre-existing conditions.
What one person pays for coverage in Florida
Average monthly premiums for individual coverage. Family pricing differs; quotes are individual.
| Coverage type | Monthly premium (individual) | What that number is |
|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace (before subsidy) | $806 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $62 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $751 / $2067 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $148/mo toward single coverage (MEPS-IC, 2024).2 |
| Medicaid | $0 or nominal for those who qualify | Program design, not an average; eligibility is income-based5 |
| Fixed indemnity | $211.93 mean | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Florida with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Accident | sec-39.04 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Florida with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Critical Illness | sec-34.44 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Florida with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Dental | $46.00 mean | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Florida with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
Self-employed tradespeople and consultants here start from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Subsidy eligibility follows your projected household income and size for the year, and projections are estimates, not guarantees. A licensed agent can pressure-test yours before you file.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Port St. Lucie at a glance
Port St. Lucie anchors Florida's Treasure Coast and has ranked among the fastest growing large cities in the country, driven by master-planned communities on its western edge. Health care and construction dominate local hiring, and the city hosts the New York Mets' spring training complex, a reminder of how much of the local economy runs on seasonal rhythms.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~205,000 | St. Lucie (FIPS 12111) | Port St. Lucie |
Three Port St. Lucie situations
Dave, 63, relocated from New Jersey after selling his business. He needs two years of coverage before Medicare. With managed diabetes, underwritten products would exclude his main costs, so a marketplace plan is the sound answer even without a subsidy.
Kayla, 34, drywall subcontractor. Healthy, high deductible tolerance, income too high for a meaningful subsidy. She compares an extended short-term plan held at an underwritten rate for up to 36 months against an unsubsidized bronze plan, with eyes open about excluded pre-existing conditions.
Sam, 48, rideshare and delivery driver. His 1099 income moved him off his wife's old employer plan when she retired. That loss of coverage is a qualifying event, so the couple can enroll on HealthCare.gov now instead of waiting for November.
How Florida's rules work
Fla. Stat. 627.6426 is the controlling rule: short-term plans may run less than 12 months per term and up to 36 months in total duration. The 2024 federal rule that would have compressed these plans to a few months is currently not being enforced, per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, so Florida's statute governs in practice. Since the allowance is state law rather than federal grace, it is more stable than the multi-year availability in states that rely on federal non-enforcement alone.
Florida's other defining choice is Medicaid: the state did not expand it. An adult earning under the federal poverty level, with no qualifying category, gets neither Medicaid nor a marketplace subsidy. That gap catches some early retirees whose taxable income is low even though their assets are not, which is a planning conversation worth having before year end. Open enrollment runs November 1 to January 15 on HealthCare.gov.
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Keep reading — more Florida guides
Premium data methodology. 1 Marketplace premium averages reflect the average monthly premium before advance premium tax credits, the average monthly premium after advance premium tax credits among subsidized enrollees, and the percentage of enrollees receiving advance premium tax credits, for Florida, as reported in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, 2026 plan year, available at cms.gov. Figures are statewide averages across all metal tiers, ages, and household sizes; your premium will differ based on your age, household, income, county, and plan selection.
2 Employer coverage averages reflect the average total monthly premium for single and family coverage at private-sector establishments in Florida, including both employer and employee contributions, as reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2024 tables, available at meps.ahrq.gov. Employee contribution figure reflects the average employee share of the single-coverage premium. Employer plan costs vary by employer, plan design, and firm size.
3 Client averages are calculated from GetHealthPlans.com (MTG Insurance Agency LLC) internal book-of-business records as of July 15, 2026 and reflect the median or mean monthly premium, as labeled, among active policies providing individual coverage (one covered person) of the stated product type held by our clients residing in the stated state or, where labeled agency-wide, across all states in which we operate. Family and multi-person policies are excluded so that figures reflect what one person pays. Figures are shown only for states and products where our records include a sufficient number of active individual policies to report a meaningful average, with a minimum of ten; combinations below that threshold are not shown. Where a figure is labeled "median," half of our client policies in that group pay less and half pay more. Our client base reflects the products we sell, skews toward medically underwritten coverage, and may not represent all buyers or all plans available in a state. These figures are historical averages of premiums actually paid by our clients, are not quotes, offers, or projections, and are not statements of what any individual will pay. Individual premiums are determined by the insurer at application based on age, location, term length, benefit selections, and underwriting outcomes.
4 No federal or state agency publishes average premium data for short-term limited duration insurance or fixed indemnity insurance. Where we do not display a client-base figure for these products, it is because we do not have sufficient policy volume in that state to report a meaningful average. Short-term and fixed indemnity products are medically underwritten, are not major medical coverage, are not required to cover pre-existing conditions or essential health benefits, and do not constitute minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
5 Medicaid and CHIP are public programs, not insurance products sold by this agency. Premiums are $0 or nominal for those who qualify; eligibility is determined by your state based on income, household size, and other factors. The figure shown describes program design, not an average. Contact your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov to check eligibility.