Compare health insurance quotes

Find a plan that fits your family and your budget.
See plans and prices

Partnered with HealthSherpa

By NerdWallet 

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

MORE LIKE THISHealth

About this tool

This tool provides an easy way to compare health insurance quotes for individual health plans. Individual health insurance plans are policies you buy on your own, rather than through work. This tool shows plans that are offered through state and federal health insurance marketplaces. If you qualify for tax subsidies to lower your monthly payments, you must buy one of these plans to receive a subsidy.

What to look for in a health insurance plan

There's more to comparing health insurance quotes than looking at premiums. Deductibles, copays and coinsurance might all be different, so you’ll want to take a close look at those out-of-pocket costs while you compare.

Look at the plan’s deductible — how much you must pay out of pocket before the plan starts to pay a portion of the costs. This will appear next to the premium of any plan you look at. If someone on the plan goes to the emergency room or needs a lot of health care services, you’ll likely have to pay that amount toward care in the next year. For an emergency room visit or expensive treatment, you could be charged the deductible all at once, so there is a risk if you choose a plan with a high deductible.

Pay special attention to prescription coverage if someone in your family relies on a prescription medication. If that drug is an expensive one, you may have to pay full cost for it until the deductible is met, and a coinsurance percentage after that. Ask yourself: Would it be a better deal to pay a higher monthly premium in exchange for a flat copay each time you need to refill at the pharmacy?

Check the plan’s provider network to make sure there are doctors and hospitals near you who take that plan. If you go out of the network to receive care, you might have to pay full price, whether you knew you went to a non-network provider or not. If you have a doctor you like, also make sure he or she accepts your medical insurance plan.

How much you pay when you go out of network and how many doctors are in your network will depend on which type of plan you get. Your plan type will also determine whether you need a referral from your primary doctor before you see a specialist.