aiser Permanente and Blue Cross Blue Shield are the best health insurance companies that offer Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. Both companies top the ratings in our analysis of quality ratings, complaints, deductibles and plans offered.
It’s still a good idea to shop around and evaluate health insurance companies in your region. That includes smaller and state-based insurers on the ACA marketplace.
Featured Partner Offers
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
About 1.7 million
Very low
California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C.
23,900+ physicians in 39 hospitals and 622 medical facilities.
Very low
Summary: The Best Health Insurance Companies
The Best Health Insurance Companies
What Is Health Insurance?
Health insurance pays for healthcare expenses for treatments, medicine and services as determined by the coverage features defined in your specific policy. You pay a health insurance premium for the coverage, whether or not you seek medical care.
When you use services covered by your plan, the health insurer pays a portion of your healthcare costs. Depending on the plan type and services used, you may have to pay a share of the bill, as part of the plan’s health insurance deductible (a fixed amount before any coverage begins), copayment (a fixed amount per services) and/or coinsurance (a percentage of the service cost).
Some health plans require that you stay within the provider network if you want the plan to pay for services, while others allow you to seek care out-of-network, usually at a higher cost-sharing percentage for your portion.
What Does Health Insurance Cover?
Health insurance covers doctor visits, hospital visits, outpatient care, preventive care and prescription drugs.
The Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare, requires health insurance companies in the ACA marketplace at HealthCare.gov to cover:
- Ambulatory patient services, also called outpatient services.
- Emergency services.
- Hospitalizations.
- Lab services.
- Mental health and substance use disorder services.
- Pediatric services, including vision and dental care.
- Pregnancy, maternity and newborn care.
- Prescription drugs.
- Preventive and wellness services, as well as chronic disease management.
- Rehab and habilitative services and devices.
Congress has added other requirements for health insurers beyond the ACA mandate, including birth control coverage and breastfeeding benefits.
Health insurers don’t have to offer dental or vision coverage for adults or medical management programs like weight management, but some insurance companies offer this expanded coverage.
What Does Health Insurance Not Cover?
Health insurance doesn’t cover everything. Services that are often excluded include:
- Alternative treatments, which may include acupuncture.
- Care outside of the U.S.
- Cosmetic surgery.
- Dental care.
- Experimental treatments and drugs.
- Fertility care.
- Hearing aids.
- LASIK surgery.
- Out-of-network care.
- Some prescription drugs.
- Sterilization reversal.
- Vaccines that you need to travel.
- Vision care, though it may cover annual eye exams.
- Weight loss programs and surgery.
The services that health insurance will not cover (or will only partially cover) depend on the health insurance company and plan type. For instance, a health maintenance organization (HMO) or exclusive provider organization (EPO) plan won’t pay for care outside your provider network, while a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan will cover out-of-network care.
How Much Does Health Insurance Cost?
The average cost for a silver plan for a 30-year-old is $488 a month.
- A 40-year-old pays an average of $549 a month.
- A 50-year-old pays an average of $767 a month.
- A 60-year-old pays an average of $1,164 a month.
Health insurance costs vary based on multiple factors, including the metal tier and your age. Bronze and silver plans have cheaper premiums but higher out-of-pocket costs than gold plans.
Bronze Plans: Average Monthly Health Insurance Costs
| Company | Age 30 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$335 | $378 | $528 | $802 | |
$370 | $416 | $582 | $884 | |
$407 | $458 | $641 | $972 | |
$382 | $428 | $600 | $907 | |
$311 | $351 | $490 | $745 | |
$348 | $392 | $548 | $833 | |
$380 | $427 | $597 | $908 |
Silver Plans: Average Monthly Health Insurance Costs
| Company | Age 30 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$424 | $451 | $667 | $1,013 | |
$441 | $497 | $694 | $1,055 | |
$543 | $611 | $854 | $1,296 | |
$454 | $510 | $714 | $1,078 | |
$423 | $476 | $665 | $1,011 | |
$451 | $508 | $709 | $1,078 | |
$489 | $551 | $770 | $1,170 |
Gold Plans: Average Monthly Health Insurance Costs
| Company | Age 30 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$413 | $534 | $747 | $1,135 | |
$493 | $555 | $776 | $1,179 | |
$599 | $674 | $942 | $1,429 | |
$578 | $648 | $908 | $1,372 | |
$435 | $490 | $685 | $1,041 | |
$482 | $543 | $759 | $1,153 | |
$551 | $620 | $867 | $1,317 |
We didn’t include platinum plan costs because those plans are fairly rare. The ACA marketplace doesn’t have enough platinum plans for us to calculate an accurate average.
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