What are the different types of Health Insurance?

There are multiple ways to obtain health coverage and there are many factors to consider before choosing which type will suit you best. Individuals can carry health insurance through an employer, the public marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, a healthshare/multiplan, a short term/limited benefit plan, or a medically underwritten plan. 

Employer coverage is provided through job benefits. Usually, employer coverage is inexpensive for the employee, however, sometimes it is very costly to add family members on to the employee’s policy. This is because employers are not required to help with the cost of family members who are added on to employees policies. 

The public marketplace is also known as Obamacare or the ACA. This is great for people who qualify for a low income subsidy or have major pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, the public marketplace can be quite expensive monthly premium wise.

Medicaid is health insurance provided by the state at no cost for individuals who are extremely low-income. Eligibility for Medicaid is based on income, family size, and other factors that vary between each state. Medicare is a federal program that provides insurance to individuals who are age 65 or older as well as individuals who are disabled. 

Healthshare plans are health coverage where members pool their money together to help pay medical bills of people in the network. These plans are typically inexpensive, however, these plans have no legal obligation to pay claims. 

Short term or limited benefit plans are great if you have a coverage gap between plans (30-90 days). However, these are often marketed somewhat deceptively. 

Medically underwritten coverage is through the private sector. It is ideal if you do not qualify for government assistance for being low-income, you are relatively healthy, self-employed, not offered company coverage, or company coverage is expensive.