How to Find Individual Health Care Insurance
- 1). Check with individual health insurance companies in your area. Insurance companies licensed to sell policies in your state offer online tools and have local offices to help you find individual health insurance that fits your needs. Web portals --- such as Aetna's (see Resources) --- offer tools to help you evaluate available health insurance plans, costs and benefits based on your needs and budget. Local or regional offices and toll-free telephone numbers offer insurance company sales staff who can help you navigate the options. You will need to contact multiple companies that offer insurance in your state to compare and contrast plans.
- 2). Talk to an insurance broker or agent. Using resources developed by groups like the National Association of Health Underwriters (see Resources), you can find a health insurance broker or agent in your community to help you find an individual insurance policy. Brokers and agents represent many different health insurance companies and plans, so they can assist you in determining all of the available options and in comparing costs and benefits.
- 3). Research options through your membership in professional groups. Some professional groups, like freelance guilds or chambers of commerce, offer members discounted individual health insurance through the organization. Make a list of all of the professional or social organizations you belong to, and contact each one to see if discounts on individual health insurance are available as part of your membership package. Membership organizations may recommend companies or policies if they do not offer a discounted plan.
- 4). Get information from state and federal government agencies. Your state's department of insurance can help you shop for individual health insurance, both online and in person. State insurance departments regulate the sale of insurance policies within your state, so department staff are familiar with the options available to you. Most state insurance departments offer consumer guides, tips and tools that can help you find individual insurance. Also, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has an online portal, healthcare.gov, to help you determine available options for individual insurance, sorting options by coverage type, geographic area and cost.
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