CCHF launches cash-pay guide as ACA enrollment starts

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom has released a free guide for Americans shopping for 2027 ACA health plans, with tools to find independent doctors, compare cash prices and pay directly for care. The guide arrives as open enrollment begins and highlights lower-cost options outside traditional insurance networks.

Why it matters: - The guide is aimed at helping Americans find lower-cost care at the start of 2027 ACA open enrollment. - CCHF says patients can use cash-pay options to compare prices and avoid relying only on a health plan. - The resource could matter for people looking for direct pricing on doctors, tests, prescriptions, imaging and surgery.

What happened: - Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom released a free Cash-Pay Resources guide on Nov. 1, 2026. - The release coincided with Americans beginning to shop for 2027 health plans through Affordable Care Act exchanges. - CCHF said the guide helps people find medical care, compare prices and pay directly without using a health plan.

The details: - The guide includes directories of independent doctors, dentists and specialists. - It explains direct primary care practices, which typically charge $50 to $100 per month for access to a doctor. - The resource identifies cash-pay options for lab tests, prescriptions, imaging and surgery. - The guide also points users to ways to find hospital prices and charitable assistance. - One example in the guide cites Keith Smith, MD, co-founder of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, describing a hospital that quoted an uninsured Georgia man $40,000 for prostate surgery. - In that example, the hospital later offered to match a $3,600 cash price the patient found at SCO. - The guide is available for download. - More information is available through CCHF’s website.

Between the lines: - The release frames cash pricing as a check on hospital and insurance costs. - Twila Brase, CCHF president and co-founder, said patients have another option besides choosing a corporate health plan. - Brase also said cash-based pricing can drive down the cost of care for patients willing to shop for it.

What's next: - CCHF is directing people to the guide as open enrollment continues. - The organization is also offering interviews with Twila Brase through Alexandra de Scheel at media@cchfreedom.org. - CCHF will likely continue pushing its patient-centered, free-market message around health care pricing and coverage choices.

The bottom line: - CCHF is betting that more transparent cash prices can give consumers leverage as ACA open enrollment gets underway.