Private Health Insurance & Essential Health Benefits

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), as of 2014, changed how insurers determine health insurance premiums and how consumers shop for individual market health insurance plans. For example, PPACA prohibited insurers from denying coverage or varying premiums based on consumer health status or gender. At the same time, PPACA required health plans to be marketed based on their metal tiers (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum), which helps consumers compare the relative value of each plan; it also required the establishment of health insurance exchanges in each state, through which consumers can compare and select from among participating health plans. This book examines the numbers of health plans available to individuals and how they changed from 2014 to 2015; and the range of health insurance premiums in 2014 and 2015, and how they changed for individuals in each state and county for selected consumers. The book discusses premium and coverage variations of private health insurance and essential health benefits.