Having a health insurance plan helps provide coverage over the cost of your medical and surgical expenses. There are, however, different types of health insurance plans, and they vary in what form of coverage they offer and the requirements for their eligibility. Therefore, choosing a health insurance plan that suits your needs can be quite a hassle.
However, most of the time, it all comes down to a choice between public and private health insurance. This article aims to give you an understanding of private health insurance plans.
What is a private health insurance plan?
A private health insurance plan is any health insurance coverage provided by a private enterprise instead of a state or federal government. More than half of the U.S. population enroll in one private health insurance plan. An advantage of the private health insurance plan over the public is that it may cover the cost of some health services not provided for by public health plans.
Where to get private health insurance
The different places you can get a private health insurance plan to enroll into include:
- Your employer.
- Government-run marketplaces or exchanges.
- Health insurance companies.
Standards of private health insurance plans
There are several regulations set by state and federal governments that private health plans must comply with. For example, individual and small-group health plans have to cover benefits considered essential by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), while large-group health plans have to provide minimum value.
Before the Individual Mandate was removed from the ACA in 2019, individuals without a qualified health plan had to pay a tax penalty.
Most private health insurance plans, such as employer-sponsored plans and the marketplace plans compliant with the ACA, meet the minimum standards for private health insurance. But some of them do not meet these standards. They are less regulated and offered mainly by private insurance companies. Examples of such plans are short-term health plans, indemnity plans, dental/vision plans, and catastrophic coverage. As a result, they are more suited to serve as supplements to other major health insurance plans.
Cost of private health insurance
Private health plans vary in price depending on many factors such as where you’re getting it from, your income, location, age, etc. It is best to be aware of as many of these factors that affect you as possible when making your choice for a private health insurance purchase.