Health insurance allows individuals, families and businesses
to protect themselves against the risk of incurring sudden or significant
medical costs related to their health. In addition to providing financial
protection and peace of mind for policyholders, health insurance plans are
increasingly providing programs and expertise to improve the quality and safety
of patient care by promoting prevention and wellness, helping patients manage
chronic conditions, partnering with medical providers, and driving innovations.
Polls show that people with private health insurance are consistently satisfied with their coverage. According to the Employee Benefits Research Group, 73% of people enrolled in a traditional health care plan were extremely or very satisfied with the quality of coverage they received through their health plan. Other surveys have consistently demonstrated similar results.
There are two ways in which people access private-market health insurance: 1) the individual insurance market, and 2) employer-sponsored coverage, which is comprised of the small group and large group markets. Each market has distinct characteristics and operates under different regulations.
To learn more about the value of private health insurance plans, please click here.
In this section:
Latest Resources
The Kaiser Family Foundation conducts this annual survey of employers and provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Strategic Communications
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06/05/2012
In July 2010, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) conducted a comprehensive survey of member companies offering coverage in the small group health insurance market. Responses included premium and benefit data from more than 477,000 small groups (those with 50 or fewer employees), reflecting approximately 3.7 million workers and 1.3 million dependents with coverage as of January 2010.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Product Policy, Center for Policy and Research
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07/08/2011
An annual census by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U.S. health insurance carriers shows that the number of people covered by health savings account/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 11.4 million in January 2011.
View slides for this report.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Center for Policy and Research
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06/16/2011
An annual census by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U.S. health insurance carriers shows that the number of people covered by health savings account/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 11.4 million in January 2011.
View the full report.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Center for Policy and Research
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06/16/2011
A comprehensive study of financial activity in health savings accounts (HSAs). Data collected from three large banks contain detailed account information of more than 1.2 million HSA accounts open as of December 31, 2009.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Center for Policy and Research
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12/06/2010
This fact check from the AHIP Coverage blog compiles research on the critical role of the individual insurance market, which serves more than 14 million people. The blog post also highlights what thought leaders, think tanks and the media are saying about the importance of a personal coverage requirement.
AHIP Coverage Blog Posts
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10/12/2010
The Kaiser Family Foundation conducts this annual survey of employers and provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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09/02/2010
In response to questions from Congressman Crowley, AHIP explains the factors that are likely to cause potential premium increases within the small group market in the coming years.
Congressional Correspondence
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12/15/2009
The latest in a series of AHIP surveys shows that the market for individually purchased coverage is more affordable and accessible than may be widely known.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Center for Policy and Research
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10/21/2009
For this follow-up study, the responding banks used a geo-coding technique to estimate the income characteristics of those HSA accountholders, which allows analysis of account balances, inflows and outflows by income range.
Reports/Research/White Papers
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Center for Policy and Research
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05/13/2009
The Health Savings Alliance is a non-partisan, educational and grassroots initiative of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The Alliance is working to urge Congress to strengthen HSAs and HSA health plans, which continue to help protect families from the rising costs of health care.
Advocacy and Coalition Websites