You can purchase a private health plan through Maryland Health Connection, but you will only be eligible for financial assistance to lower the cost of coverage if your employer coverage is considered to not be affordable or if the coverage offered by your employer doesn’t meet some basic standards, known as providing minimum value.

Employer coverage is considered affordable if the cost you pay annually for employee-only coverage is no greater than 9.78 percent of annual household income.

Employer coverage provides minimum value if it covers 60 percent of health care costs on average. Your employer should be able to tell you if your plan meets this standard.