Accessing health care and being able to afford health insurance premiums are challenges facing many Americans and Washingtonians.  Almost 85 percent of health care in the United States is purchased through health care insurance. Health insurance has three separate markets:  the large group market (employer based insurance for 51 or more employees, and association memberships); the small group market (employer based insurance for 50 or fewer employees); and the individual market (individual insurance purchased outside the workplace). Nationally, the private health insurance market is composed of approximately 65 percent large group, 25 percent small group, and 10 percent individual.  Each of these markets has a different type of product, with economic and legal distinctions.

This document is not intended to be a comprehensive study of all insurance markets; rather, it provides some basic information on employer sponsored health insurance and a snapshot of individual insurance prices for given populations.  One can not merely compare plans solely on cost since there are differences in benefits that must also be considered.  Moreover, insurance prices are not static; they change over time.  Premium prices and plan availability can vary from city to city within a state, making a comparison between states even more tenuous.

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