The shipyard dominates Newport News. It is the largest industrial employer in Virginia and the only place in the country that builds the Navy's nuclear aircraft carriers, and its group benefits cover a huge share of local households. The rest of the city looks different: subcontractors, gig workers around the port, and service employees whose hours never quite reach benefits eligibility. Those are the people this page is for.
The rules here
| Max initial term (short-term) | 3 months |
| Max total duration | 6 months of coverage in any 12 |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, short-term, fixed indemnity, supplemental |
| Exchange type | State exchange (Virginia's Insurance Marketplace) |
| Medicaid expansion | Yes |
What's available in Newport News
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | Yes | 3-month terms, 6 months max in any 12 | Short-term |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | No | Not available under Virginia law | |
| 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 Virginia
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) | $575 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $124 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $682 / $2127 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $155/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 | sec-363.11 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Virginia with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
For the self-employed in Newport News, the individual marketplace benchmark above is the starting figure. Subsidies depend on household income and size for the year and are never guaranteed in advance; a licensed agent can convert the benchmark into your actual price.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Newport News at a glance
Newport News runs long and narrow up the Peninsula between the James River and Hampton, with the shipyard at its southern end and newer commercial growth toward the north. Shipbuilding cycles matter here: hiring surges and layoffs at the yard and its subcontractors move hundreds of families in and out of group coverage at a time.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~186,000 | Newport News city (FIPS 51700) | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News |
Three Newport News situations
Denise, 39, laid off from a shipyard subcontractor. Losing group coverage is a qualifying event. She compares COBRA at full cost against a subsidized plan on Virginia's Insurance Marketplace, and unless she is mid-treatment with her current network, the marketplace usually wins on price.
Owen, 27, rideshare and delivery driver. No employer, no benefits, income that shifts month to month. Subsidies work off annual income, so he can hold a marketplace plan year round. In a very lean year, Virginia's Medicaid expansion covers him instead of leaving a gap.
Gloria, 55, seamstress with her own shop and a diabetes diagnosis. Underwritten products would exclude her condition, so short-term and fixed indemnity are poor fits. A marketplace plan covers her care with no pre-existing exclusions, and her shop income sets the subsidy.
How Virginia's rules work
Virginia allows short-term plans only in 3-month terms, with a total of no more than 6 months of coverage in any 12-month period. No extended version exists here. The practical rule of thumb: if your gap is longer than one season, do not build your plan around short-term coverage in this state.
Virginians enroll through the state's own exchange, Virginia's Insurance Marketplace. Open enrollment dates are set by the state exchange, generally opening November 1. Virginia expanded Medicaid, which means adults under the subsidy floor typically qualify for Medicaid, so low income does not mean no options.
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Keep reading — more Virginia 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 Virginia, 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 Virginia, 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.