Health insurance

Health insurance is coverage that pays some or all costs of medical care in exchange for premiums or contributions. Plans define covered services, cost sharing, and rules for accessing care.

Premium (insurance): A recurring payment made to keep an insurance policy in force. Premiums fund coverage, but do not usually eliminate charges when care is used.
Risk pooling: The spreading of financial losses across a group whose members contribute to a shared fund. Insurance uses pooled contributions to pay unpredictable medical costs across members.
Single-payer healthcare: A healthcare financing system in which one public entity pays for covered services. It contrasts private or multiple-payer coverage with a single public payer.
Medicare (United States): A federal health insurance program primarily serving people aged 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities. Medicare is a major public coverage program with distinct parts and eligibility rules.
Deductible: The amount an insured person pays for covered services before the insurer begins sharing costs. It sets how much spending falls to the patient before plan payments start.
Health insurance marketplace: A platform where individuals and families can compare and enroll in health insurance plans. Marketplaces organize plan choices and may connect eligible buyers to financial assistance.
Universal health coverage: A goal in which everyone can obtain needed health services without financial hardship. Universal coverage is an outcome that can be pursued through several insurance arrangements.
Medicaid: A United States public health insurance program for eligible people with low incomes, jointly financed by federal and state governments. Medicaid demonstrates how income and state rules shape public eligibility.
Copayment: A fixed amount a patient pays for a covered healthcare service. Fixed charges are one common way plans divide service costs with members.
Employer-sponsored health insurance: Health coverage offered to workers through an employer, often with contributions from both employer and employee. This is a major route to coverage in countries such as the United States.

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