How Do I Get Health Insurance Quotes?

To get health insurance quotes, you must provide personal and household information to an insurance company, an agent or broker, an online marketplace platform or a government-run health exchange website. As you shop for health insurance, it’s beneficial to compare quotes for multiple policies from different carriers to make sure you’re getting the right amount of coverage at the lowest price possible.

Read on to learn more about how to get health insurance quotes and what factors you should take into account when deciding which health plan would be the best option for you or your family.

What Do I Need To Get a Health Insurance Quote?

If you would like to obtain health insurance quotes online, you will generally need to share information like your ZIP code, marriage status and expected household income along with the number of people in your household and all of their ages and sexes.^[1]

What Should I Look For When Shopping for Health Insurance Quotes?

In the following sections, you will find overviews of the various details you should pay attention to when deciding how to get a health insurance quote and what policy would best suit your needs.

How You Want To Obtain Coverage

The majority of Americans are covered by group health insurance plans through their employers, so you may not need to shop around for health insurance quotes at all if you are already covered through work.^[2] Nevertheless, there are other coverage options if you are unemployed or feel that you are paying too much for your employer-sponsored health plan.

For example, you can easily shop for private health plans that comply with the standards of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace or your state’s equivalent website if it has one. You may also have the option of buying coverage directly from a private health insurance company, though you could end up enrolling in a non-ACA-compliant plan with limited benefits if you shop for coverage outside of open enrollment.^[3]

Finally, you or your family members could have the option of enrolling in a government-funded health care program if you meet certain eligibility requirements. For example, you may qualify for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) based on your income or Medicare based on your age.

Plan Category

Once you opt to compare quotes, one of the first things you’ll naturally want to pay attention to is price. However, you should not merely look at how much you will have to spend on monthly premiums for a plan but also how much you will have to spend out of pocket on deductibles, copays and coinsurance whenever you receive medical care or prescription drugs.

If you shop through the Marketplace, you can easily compare these costs by looking at each plan’s category. Bronze and silver plans have lower premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs, making them ideal for people who rarely need health care services but would like to secure cheap coverage in case of an emergency.

Meanwhile, gold and platinum plans have higher premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs, meaning they are recommended for people who frequently need services covered by health insurance and would rather budget for high premiums each month than for high out-of-pocket costs every time they access health care.

Covered Services

Next, you’ll want to take a look at what benefits a certain plan offers and whether those benefits match your expected health care needs. At the very least, all ACA-compliant health insurance plans must cover the 12 services noted in the table below.^[4] If you want coverage for any other services, you will need to pay attention to whether the plans you compare cover them.

Size of Network

Many health plans limit or exclude coverage for routine care from providers outside of the plan’s network, so you should check each plan’s network to see whether any doctors or specialists you regularly visit contract with the plan. In addition, many health insurance networks are limited to a small geographic region, so if you travel frequently or split your time between homes in two different states, then you may want to hunt for a plan with a larger, national network.

Type of Health Insurance

There are four types of health plans you will often encounter on the Marketplace that come with different sets of restrictions. Health maintenance organization (HMO) and point of service (POS) plans don’t cover visits to a specialist without a referral from your doctor, while exclusive provider organization (EPO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) plans do. Meanwhile, HMO and EPO plans don’t cover out-of-network routine care, while POS and PPO plans do.^[5]

Marketplace Subsidies

Finally, you should check whether you qualify for subsidies that can make coverage more affordable if you shop through the Marketplace. You may qualify for a premium tax credit based on your estimated household income that directly lowers your monthly premium payment or potentially makes your plan free depending on the plan you choose.^[6]

Additionally, you could qualify for income-based cost-sharing reductions that lower your out-of-pocket costs whenever you access health care. However, unlike premium tax credits, you cannot take advantage of cost-sharing reductions unless you enroll in a silver plan.^[6]

Should I Compare Health Insurance Options When Getting Quotes?

It’s recommended that you compare quotes from at least three to five different health insurance companies before settling on a policy. Insurance carriers each have their own underwriting methods, which means one insurer could give you a more favorable quote than another for the same or similar coverage.

Where Can I Get Health Insurance Quotes?

You may be able to get health insurance quotes from a government-operated Marketplace, a private health insurance company’s website, an insurance agent or broker or an online health insurance comparison service.^[7]

How To Get Health Insurance Quotes

Since it can be a hassle to individually reach out to multiple insurance companies, the best way to collect and compare health insurance quotes is through an online marketplace platform like SmartFinancial. Simply answer a few questions and we’ll connect you with agents who are prepared to help you find the best plan for your circumstances. Start comparing health insurance quotes for free by clicking here.