Find Affordable Health Insurance in your area

These 7 steps show you how to find it.

1. Understand your alternatives to buying individual health insurance.

2. Know what you need and can afford

3. Go to Healthcare.gov

4. Compare costs — all of them

5. Shop elsewhere

6. Compare costs (again)

7. Pick the plan that best meets your needs

Individual health insurance is health insurance that you purchase on your own through a government or private exchange, not through an employer. Employer sponsored health insurance is referred to as group coverage.
The monthly payment that you make to your health insurance company to stay enrolled in your individual health insurance plan, is called a premium.
The average cost of individual health insurance premiums is $200 to 300 for an individual and & $350 to $500+ for a family, in 2019 according to some companies.

Keep in mind that these numbers are averages and only represent the average cost for monthly premiums. The cost of your premium can vary greatly depending on where you live, how old you are, and how many dependents you have – if any.
The premium isn’t the only individual health insurance cost you need to worry about, you can also expect to have other out-of-pocket expenses such as:

• A deductible

• Copayments

• Coinsurance

Pay less tax

Many people are financially better off by taking out health insurance. With hospital cover, you can dodge the Medicare Levy Surcharge if you earn over $90,000. … Plus, if you take out private health insurance before you turn 31, you can avoid paying the Lifetime Health Cover loading.

• Health Insurance Types. Health insurance can be broken down into two broad categories: …

• Traditional Health Insurance. …

• Fee-for-service. …

• Managed care. …

• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) …

• Point-of-Service (POS) …

• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

Open Enrollment for 2021 Affordable Care Act plans ended on December 15, 2021.  In most cases, you would need to wait until the next Open Enrollment period starts on November 1, 2022 to change your health insurance plan or enroll in a new one. However, even after Open Enrollment has ended, there are some ways to still get health insurance coverage now.

These are:

• Through a special enrollment period due to a qualifying life event like getting married, having a child, or losing existing coverage

• Under a short term medical plan

• Through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Note that you can purchase dental or vision insurance plans outside of Open Enrollment, so you can apply for one of these anytime.

PPOs Usually Win on Choice and Flexibility

If flexibility and choice are important to you, a PPO plan could be the better choice. Unlike most HMO health plans, you won’t likely need to select a primary care physician, and you won’t usually need a referral from that physician to see a specialist.