Real answers for your healthcare questions
What is the difference between Marketplace insurance and private health insurance?
Answer
Marketplace insurance is private health insurance purchased through the federal or a state Marketplace. Private health insurance can also refer more broadly to coverage bought directly from an insurer, through an employer, or from another private source.
What to Know
ACA compliant Marketplace plans and ACA compliant plans sold outside the Marketplace can share many protections, but Marketplace financial assistance is generally only available through the Marketplace. Other private products may have different benefit standards, exclusions, or eligibility rules and should not automatically be treated as substitutes for comprehensive medical coverage.
What to Do Next
If you are comparing Marketplace and private options, first determine whether you qualify for subsidies. Then compare the actual benefits, network, prescriptions, exclusions, premium, and total potential out of pocket cost.
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