Best Health Insurance Companies: Reviews & Ratings

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Health Insurance Providers for Individuals and Families.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a health insurance provider. Cost, plans and coverage options are things you should take into account when comparing plans. The state where you live also plays a major part of the insurance plans that are available to you. We understand this can be overwhelming so in order to make things easier, we reviewed over a dozen health insurance companies in the US. During our review we looked at BBB ratings, financial strength, complaints, mobile apps, enrollment process, claims process and frequently asked questions. We also created a list of pros and cons for each company to help you easily identify potential strengths and weaknesses they have. Check out the company rankings below and read reviews from each health insurance provider.

Top 10 Health Insurance Companies

Largest Health Insurance Companies by Market Share

Health Insurance Companies in the US by Coverage

List of Health Insurance Companies Reviews

Top 10 Health Insurance Companies

Who are the largest health insurance companies in the country? According to a 2019 NAIC report , here is the top-10 list based on market share and direct written premiums. United Healthcare comes in on top with an impressive $156B worth of premiums and over 14% of the market share. Kasier comes in second with 8.42% of the market followed by Anthem with 6.07%. The complete list of carriers is listed below.

RankInsurance CompanyMarket ShareDirect Written Premiums
1 United Healthcare 14.17% $156B
2 Kaiser Permanente 8.42% $93B
3 Anthem 6.07% $67B
4 Humana 5.06% $56B
5 Aetna (CVS Group) 5.03% $55B
6 Centene 3.29% $36B
7 Cigna 2.70% $29B
8 Wellcare 1.67% $20B
9 Molina 1.85% $18B

Largest Health Insurance Companies by Marketshare

marketshare

Source: NAIC 2019 Health Insurance Company Report

Health Insurance Companies in the U.S. by Coverage

Depending on which state you live in, you will have different health insurance companies to choose from. Not every company offers coverage in every state. We have compiled a list of the largest health insurance providers in each state according to a report by America's Health Insurance Plans. The full list is featured below. We have also listed the percentage of health insurance coverage in each state. See the breakdown of private coverage, Medicaid, Medicare, and percentage of people uninsured in your state.

Which state has the most uninsured people?

Unfortunately sometimes people may find themselves in a situation where obtaining health insurance is not possible and they decide to go without it. In Texas, 17% of the population is uninsured. Alaska and Oklahoma both come in at 14% followed by Florida and Georgia at 13%. The state with the lowest rate of uninsured residents is Massachusetts with 4%.

What state has the most people on Medicare?

Citizens and legal residents of the United States, who are 65 years old or older are eligible for Medicare Part A, B and C. West Virginia has the highest percentage of residents on Medicare at 18%. New Hampshire, Maine, Florida and Delaware come in next at 17%.

StateLargest ProviderPrivate CoverageMedicaidMedicareUninsured
Alabama Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama 52% 21% 16% 10%
Alaska Aetna 48% 22% 9% 14%
Arizona Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona 51% 22% 15% 10%
Arkansas Aetna 48% 27% 16% 8%
California Anthem 54% 26% 11% 7%
Colorado Aetna 59% 20% 12% 8%
Connecticut Aetna 60% 20% 14% 6%
Delaware Aetna 58% 18% 17% 6%
Florida Aetna 50% 19% 17% 13%
Georgia Aetna 56% 17% 12% 13%
Hawaii Hawaii Medical Assurance Association 59% 18% 15% 4%
Idaho Blue Cross of Idaho 57% 18% 14% 11%
Illinois Aetna 59% 20% 13% 7%
Indiana Anthem 58% 18% 14% 8%
Iowa Aetna 62% 18% 15% 4%
Kansas Aetna 62% 14% 14% 9%
Kentucky Anthem 51% 27% 15% 6%
Louisiana Aetna 50% 28% 13% 8%
Maine Aetna 56% 18% 17% 8%
Maryland Aetna 62% 18% 12% 6%
Massachusetts AllWays Health Partners 60% 24% 13% 3%
Michigan Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan 56% 22% 15% 5%
Minnesota Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota 63% 17% 14% 5%
Mississippi Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi 48% 24% 13% 12%
Missouri Aetna 59% 15% 16% 9%
Montana Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana 53% 19% 16% 9%
Nebraska Aetna 64% 13% 13% 9%
Nevada Aetna 54% 19% 14% 11%
New Hampshire Anthem 63% 14% 17% 6%
New Jersey Aetna 62% 17% 13% 8%
New Mexico Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico 41% 34% 14% 9%
New York Aetna 55% 26% 12% 6%
North Carolina Aetna 53% 18% 15% 11%
North Dakota Aetna 67% 11% 13% 8%
Ohio Aetna 57% 21% 15% 6%
Oklahoma Aetna 51% 18% 15% 14%
Oregon Kaiser Permanente 54% 23% 15% 7%
Pennsylvania Aetna 58% 20% 16% 6%
Rhode Island Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island 57% 24% 14% 5%
South Carolina Aetna 51% 19% 16% 11%
South Dakota Avera 61% 14% 14% 9%
Tennessee BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee 54% 21% 15% 9%
Texas Aetna 54% 17% 10% 17%
Utah Aetna 69% 11% 10% 9%
Vermont Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont 51% 28% 16% 4%
Virginia Aetna 61% 12% 14% 9%
Washington aetna 58% 21% 13% 6%
West Virginia aetna 47% 28% 18% 6%
Wisconsin Anthem 63% 17% 15% 5%
Wyoming aetna 59% 13% 14% 12%

List of Health Insurance Companies Reviews

Aetna

In 1850, Aetna Insurance Company created a fund to sell life insurance. In 1953 the life and health divisions of Aetna separated. The company’s first president was Eliphalet A. Bulkeley. The name “Aetna” was taken from an 11,000-foot volcano in Sicily, Italy, which was also the most active volcano in Europe.

In 1861, Aetna began offering participating life insurance policies, which paid dividends to policyholders and higher commission rates for agents. In 1865, annual revenue exceeded $1 million in revenue and continued to increase business and expansion, even in Massachusetts and New York where requirements for life companies were very stringent. Aetna was also one of the first companies to switch from half-notes to all-cash premium plans. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1853
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.aetna.com
Phone 1 (800)-872-3862

Pros

  • Aetna is one of the largest insurance carriers and has a vast network of providers.

Cons

  • It’s not very easy to buy Aetna Insurance unless it’s offered by an employer.
Read Full Review

Ambetter

Ambetter is a health insurance company owned by Centene Corporation, a multi-national company that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured individuals. Centene is the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the country and the number one insurer on the Health Insurance Marketplace. Each state works differently through Ambetter to provide health insurance marketplace plans, including Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). Both Centene and it’s new acquisition, Wellcare Health Plans, serve Medicaid and Medicare members. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1984
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App No
Website www.ambetterhealth.com
Phone 1 (877) 687-1197

Pros

  • Ambetter provides coverage to individuals who don’t qualify for traditional plans.
  • Very high market share.

Cons

  • Even though premiums are low for a bronze plan, the out-of-pocket expenses are very high. You have more coverage with the Ambetter Balanced Care plan and even more coverage with the Ambetter Secure Care plan, which has higher monthly payments and low out-of-pocket expenses.
Read Full Review

Anthem

In 2004, WellPoint Health Networks Inc and Anthem, Inc. merged and became the nation’s leading health benefits company. In December 2014 WellPoint Inc. changed its corporate name to Anthem, Inc. The Anthem companies offer health care plans and related services like dental, vision, behavioral health, life insurance and disability insurance benefits as well as long-term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Anthem has about 40 million members and is ranked 33rd on the Fortune 500.

The Anthem Inc. headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is an independent licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, serving California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin and specialty plan members in other states. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 2004
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.anthem.com
Phone 1 (800) 331-1476

Pros

  • Anthem Inc. is one of the largest providers of health insurance plans in the country, serving approximately 40 million members
  • Anthem Inc. is a financially secure health insurance carrier.

Cons

  • Anthem received some bad press in 2014, for refusing to cover the hospitalization of a man with stage 4 cancers. Anthem ended up paying for coverage after public outcry.
Read Full Review

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Blue Cross was formed in 1929 as a partnership between Baylor University Hospital and its patients who were struggling financially. The administrators of the hospital wanted to make healthcare more affordable for some patients, many of whom were Dallas public school educators on restricted budgets. The initial payment plan set up by Baylor University Hospital consisted of a 50-cent prepay each month for up to 21 days of hospitalization per year. The success of the program led to enrollment by employees in other professions across Dallas.

Blue Shield also began with workers, who faced illness and occupational hazards, including Pacific Northwest loggers and miners who faced physical challenges. Employers began to organize plans to provide medical services through partnerships with practitioners and groups of physicians for a manageable monthly fee Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1929
BBB Rating A-
Mobile App Yes
Website www.bcbs.com
Phone 1 (888) 630 - 2583

Pros

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield is financially strong and stable
  • As a subsidiary of Anthem Inc. BCBS is one of the most prominent health insurers.

Cons

  • Blue Shields prices are slightly higher than the average.
Read Full Review

Caresource

In 1989, CareSource was founded on the premise of providing quality health care coverage for Medicaid consumers. Today it offers one of the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care plans. CareSource also offers private health insurance plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace, including Medicare Advantage and MyCare Ohio plans. CareSource has more than 1.9 million members across five states. The company employs about 3,800 people and is considered a nonprofit organization.

CareSource offers The Life Services program to help Medicaid members address their needs. To reduce dependence on governmental services, the program provides life coaching, access to resources and job opportunities. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1989
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.caresource.com
Phone 1 (937) 224-3300

Pros

  • CareSource is one of a few options that lower-income, underserved communities have for a managed health plan.

Cons

  • CareSource has a high number of complaints.
Read Full Review

Cigna

In 1792, a group of citizens formed the Insurance Company of North America (INA), the first marine insurance company in the U.S, the country’s oldest stockholder-owned insurer. The first insured hull and cargo was for a ship called America, which sailed from Philadelphia to Northern Ireland. In 1794, INA issued its first insurance policy, for a sea captain, to mitigate the risk of death. In 1865, the Governor of Connecticut signed a special at of the General Assembly incorporating the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, which helped make Hartford, CT, “the insurance capital of the world.” Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1972
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.cigna.com
Phone 1 (800) 997-1654

Pros

  • Cigna ranks as one of the largest and oldest insurance institutions in the country.
  • Cigna offers individual health insurance and group health insurance.

Cons

  • Cigna only provides full coverage in 12 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Read Full Review

Health Care Services Corporation

Health Care Service Corporation began with the first hospital care prepayment plan which was developed by Justin Ford Kimball, a vice president at the Baylor University School of Medicine in Texas. He as well as health care professionals and officials met during the Great Depression to solve the problem of affordable health care. In 1936, they launched the Chicago Plan for Hospital Care by pooling their resources, creating the first insurance policy effective January 21, 1937. The company grew quickly, enrolling 36,000 members in its first six months. It adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 and the Blue Shield symbol in 1947.

Blue Cross (hospital services) and Blue Shield (physician services) operated separately until 1975, when they became one as Health Care Service Corporation. The company continued to grow as Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans joined HCSC. Texas joined in 1998, New Mexico in 2001, Oklahoma in 2005 and Montana in 2013. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1929
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.hcsc.com
Phone 1 (800) 654-7385

Pros

  • Affordable marketplace plans with different tiers of coverage.

Cons

  • HCSC only operates in 5 states: Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Read Full Review

Humana

Humana is a leading managed health care company founded by David A. Jones Sr in 1961 as a nursing home company called Extendicare. In 1972 Extendicare divested the nursing home business and moved into the hospital business. They changed the name to Humana in 1974. During the 1980s, Humana entered the health insurance business and divested its hospital interests in the 1990s. In 1998, Humana and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) planned a merger worth $5.5 billion but didn’t finalize it after UnitedHealth Group posted almost $1 billion in quarterly losses that same year. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1961
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.humana.com
Phone 1 (800) 654-7385

Pros

  • Humana Health Insurance is a trusted and reliable source for Medicare Supplements and Medicare Advantage.

Cons

  • Humana Health Insurance no longer offers individual and family health plans.
Read Full Review

Kaiser Permanente

The Kaiser industrial companies of the 1930s and 1940 offered industrial health care programs for construction, shipyard and steel mill workers.These programs were opened to the public for enrollment in July 1945.

It was during the Great Depression that it all began Dr. Sidney Garfield, MD began a 12-bed hospital in the Mojave Desert called Contractors General Hospital, where he treated sick and injured workers. He had trouble collecting from insurance companies in a timely manner, and some workers had no insurance at all. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1945
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website healthy.kaiserpermanente.org
Phone 1 (510) 271-5910

Pros

  • Affordable marketplace plans with different tiers of coverage.
  • Low complaint ratio for group health plans.

Cons

  • Kaiser Permanente is only available in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Washington D.C.
Read Full Review

Molina

Molina Healthcare was founded in 1980 by C. David Molina, an emergency room physician in Long Beach, CA. After seeing that patients were being turned away because the hospital would not accept Medi-Cal, he established his first primary care clinic in Wilmington, California in 1980. His goal was to treat the lowest-income patients. For 20 years, his son and fellow physician, J. Mario Molina, ran the company while he served as president and CEO. His younger son, John, was the CFO of Molina Healthcare. The two sons took over the company after their father’s death in 1996.

Molina Healthcare entered the Medicare market in 2006 and today it offers Medicare health plans in California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1980
BBB Rating F
Mobile App Yes
Website www.molinahealthcare.com
Phone 1 (562) 435-3666

Pros

  • Affordable coverage for underserved communities, like Medicaid and Medicare recipients.
  • Affordable marketplace plans for people who do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.

Cons

  • Molina Healthcare only offers Medicaid plans in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
Read Full Review

Oscar

In 2012, Oscar Ceo Mario Schlosser and his wife were preparing to have a baby and saw how difficult it was to navigate through the healthcare system. Schlosser’s friend, Josh Kushner, had also had a similar frustration in treating an injury. They founded Oscar Health on a hope to help consumers feel less powerless in managing their health. What makes Oscar different is the Concierge Team that guides members and handles customer service questions and coordination of clinical care.

In its first year, Oscar secured 16,000 members. In 2015, Oscar expanded into New Jersey and grew to about 40,00 members. In 2016, they had 145,000 members in New York, New Jersey, California and Texas. They then expanded in Tempe, Arizona. In 2016, Oscar opened the Oscar Center in partnership with Mount Sinai Health System. The Oscar Center has a primary care practice with a doctor, nurse practitioner and behavioral health specialist. It also hosts free yoga classes and classes for expectant mothers. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 2012
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.hioscar.com
Phone 1 (844) 392-7589

Pros

  • Affordable marketplace plans with different tiers of coverage.
  • Health plan concierges who offer guidance and answer questions.

Cons

  • Oscar Health Insurance is only available in New York, California, Texas, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Arizona, Florida and Michigan.
Read Full Review

UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealth Group was founded in 1977 by Richard Burke and went public in 1984. It was Dr. Paul Ellwood, who coined the term “health maintenance organization,” and who helped Burke start up UnitedHealth. In 1979, the company created the first network senior health plan.

In 1995, the company acquired MetraHealth, which combined the group health care operations of The Travelers Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. In 1996, the company automated its claims review process using Artificial Intelligence. UnitedHealth grew in prominence in 1997, when the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) selected UnitedHealth to provide coverage to its members. That same year UnitedHealth expanded its Evercare program, which is designed to cover long-term care in nursing homes, elderly people living at home and people with chronic illnesses. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1977
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.unitedhealthgroup.com
Phone 1 (800) 328-5979

Pros

  • Robust health plans and benefits for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Cons

  • Plans are in general more expensive than those of other health insurance providers.
Read Full Review

Wellcare

In 1985, Wellcare began as a Medicaid provider for the state of Florida, with operations in Tampa, Florida. After the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 was passed, WellCare began offering Medicare Part C, now called Medicare Advantage. In 2003, it offered Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage. In 2004, Wellcare went public. In November 2013, WellCare appointed Chairman David Gallitano to serve as interim CEO. He increased spending on technology and famously dorned the walls with photographs and portraits of health plan members, including people who suffer from chronic conditions like cancer, homelessness and hunger.

In 2014, WellCare hired Kenneth Burdick as the new CEO and board member. He’d originally joined the company as the president of national health plans but was promoted first to president and COO and eventually CEO. In September 2017, Wellcare announced a rebrand with a focus on holistic health: “Beyond Healthcare: A Better You.” In October 2017, Wellcare announced the UNC Health Alliance primary care physicians and specialists into its Medicare Advantage network. Wellcare operates in 20 states and was recognized by Fortune magazine as One of the World’s Most Admired Companies in January 2018. In January 2020, Wellcare was acquired by Centene Corporation. Read more

Overview

Year Founded 1985
BBB Rating A+
Mobile App Yes
Website www.wellcare.com
Phone 1 (800) 960-2530

Pros

  • Affordable Medicare plans with many options for savings.
  • Offers PPO plans for Medicare Advantage, allowing for more freedom in choosing providers.

Cons

  • The PPO plans are only available in select counties in New York, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
  • Medicare ratings have dropped over the past few years, possibly due to rapid expansion and acquisition.
Read Full Review
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