The insurance company pays the broker a commission when you enroll, and again each month or year you keep the plan. You are never billed for it.

Commissions sit inside the administrative cost portion of the rate an insurer files with regulators. Federal rules at 45 CFR 156.80(d)(2) list every factor that is allowed to change a plan’s price, and sales channel is not one of them. That is why the price is identical everywhere.

One fair question to ask any broker: which carriers are you appointed with? An independent broker who represents several companies can compare across them. A captive agent can only sell one.