Health insurance companies offer a variety of different plans depending on how they are setup and what is offered in a particular state. These can be small regional companies or large national companies. However, because of various state laws, health insurance companies need to develop policies that are specific to each state. Health insurance companies can also offer plans that have a high deductible or use an HMO or PPO organization.
United HealthCare
This company is one of the biggest that provides health care coverage in the United States. United HealthCare was founded in 1977 with the goal of providing health insurance that is affordable and providing healthy lifestyle tools to members. The company and its subsidiaries service over 18 million people with over 450,000 doctors and 4,500 hospitals in all 50 states. The company offers many types of health insurance plans which include vision, dental and pharmacy benefits.
BlueCross and BlueShield
BluseCross and BlueShield began in the state of Texas in 1929. This is when two groups called Blue Cross and Blue Shield merged to become a single organization. There are currently 39 community-based and locally operated independent companies that operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Coverage can vary because of the requirements in each state but plans typically include various health and dental coverage options.
Aetna
Aetna is a company that was founded in 1850 and is one of the biggest in the Unites States that offers health insurance, group health plans and dental coverage. The company has grown from its start in Connecticut as an annuity fund that was established to sell life insurance. Group health plans are offered to employers in all 50 states and Medicare and Medicaid coverage is provided by the company in specific coverage areas.
Assurant
Assurant is a company that was established in 1969 and there subsidiary Assurant Health was created in 1982. Assurant Health provides short term health insurance plans and student insurance. Group dental plans, disability insurance and group term life insurance is provided by the Assurant Employee Benefit component. Assurant Health was one of the first health insurance companies to offer members the option of using a health savings account.
WellPoint
This company was created when the companies of WellPoint Health Networks and Anthem Incorporated merged operations in 2004. The company is a leader in the United States for health benefits that are provided to members. These include behavioral health options, disability insurance, dental coverage and vision coverage. The company works to improve the quality of medical while trying to increase efficiencies and reduce administrative costs.