In reviewing my 2024 annual income I was surprised that my gross revenue had increased 28 percent over 2023. While the increased revenue is nice, 2024 may be the high watermark of income for my health insurance business as significant changes are brewing in 2025 and beyond.
My gross revenue for 2023 was $89,536. With the same lines of income, my gross revenue for 2024 was $114,170. My expenses decreased slightly by $710 from 2023 to 2024.
After expenses, my net revenue – the dollar amount that will go on the schedule C of the federal income tax form 1040 – will be$103,861. This represents a $25,346 increase over 2023.
The bulk of my income comes from health insurance commissions. The revenue from Google for ads on my website (Adsense) and on my YouTube channel remained about the same as 2023 at $2,341 for 2024. However, the YouTube revenue increased while the Adsense decreased. This tracks with my decreased website visits while my YouTube views have increased over the last three years.
When I break down my insurance revenue by product type, individual and family health insurance commissions are the largest chuck of the income at 67 percent. Individual and Family Plans (IFP) are predominantly from Covered California and enrollments into health plans directly with the carrier. Medicare commissions are 24 percent of my income. These commissions come client enrollments into Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage, and Part D drug plans. Dental and vision plan enrollments comprised 6 percent and my three small employer groups contributed 3 percent.
The relative percentages between the markets for 2024 is very close to the distribution for 2023. Next, I compared the commissions for the different product types for 2023 and 2024. The IFP increased $16,638 or 29 percent over 2023. Dental and vision commissions increased 31 percent. Medicare increased $4,668 or 21 percent. My small group commissions had the largest percentage increase at 88 percent, but that only represented a dollar increase of $1,808. Overall, all the different segments increased in 2024 for an average increase of 28 percent.
I also track my quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board. In 2024, I paid $29,800 in estimated tax. I’m sure I’ll pay more on April 15th.
Fourteen years ago, when I changed careers to insurance, my net revenue for the first two years was zero. It wasn’t until 2014, after I had exhausted my retirement funds, that I was making enough money to pay the bills with a net income of $21,724. I never imagined my net revenue would hit six figures and 2024 may be my peak revenue year.
In 2025, a major health plan has cut their IFP commissions by 40 percent. Many Medicare plan sponsors eliminated commissions for their Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for 2025. My Medicare commissions will certainly be hit by the loss of those commissions. Of course, we don’t know what will happen with the Affordable Care Act and Covered California in 2026. A dramatic reduction in the health insurance subsidies will translate into many individuals and families dropping health insurance in 2026.
My prediction is that my 2025 income will be like 2024, even with the loss of commissions. The 2026 income year could become scorched earth if the Trump administration completely scraps the Affordable Care Act.
YouTube video of my 2024 income review.
