In the United States, hundreds of health care insurance companies are available to serve health care needs. While the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of Americans without health insurance remained the same in 2008 as in previous years, the number of people covered by private and employer-based plans decreased and the number covered by government sponsored plans such as Medicare, military coverage, State Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Indian Health Services and state-funded plans, increased during the year.
Commercial, Group Health Insurance
Commercial plans offer group or individual health insurance to employees of large businesses and corporations. Typically, the employer covers part of the premium cost with the employee paying for the remainder of the premium fees, as well as covering co-pay deductible payments, according to the Institute of Medicine. The largest health care insurance providers in this category include Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, AFLAC, Health Net, Aetna and the pre-paid health coverage of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) including Kaiser Permanente, CIGNA and Humana.
Small Business
Insurance companies must meet individual state statutory requirements to sell insurance. A list of the largest insurance companies offering small employer health coverage in a majority of states includes: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare Insurance Company, Western Mutual Insurance Company, Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company, Best Life and Health, John Alden Life, Madison National Life, PacificSource, Primary Health Network, Inc., Trustmark, Union Security and Group Health Options Inc. and the Altius Health Plan.
Seniors
Medicare is the federally sponsored health care system for citizens over 65 years of age. The Medicaid program also offers various health insurance benefits at the state level for seniors. Since Medicare coverage currently must be supplemented by private insurance, many of the largest insurance companies offer individual policies for seniors. Seniors may also purchase health insurance under a group contract from voluntary organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Some seniors purchase supplemental retirement plans from their former employers, but these plan offerings have declined dramatically over the past decade.
Individual
Individual health insurance coverage, also called the direct-purchase plan, generally has the highest-priced premiums since the individual does not have corporate contributions or the pricing advantage of group policies and is the most difficult to obtain, according to the Institute of Medicine. Aetna and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) group of plans cover the largest number of persons. These plans are offered under the BCBSA title but are a franchised operation that includes 39 individual companies. WellPoint is also a member of BCBSA. People living in the Midwestern states are offered insurance under the "Luminous" plans.
Member Comments