Health Insurance Companies

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Health Insurance in modern times has evolved into an indispensable component of the insurance industry. More particularly in the developed nations, Health Insurance is the norm rather than an exception for average citizens. Health insurance can be provided by either public agencies or by private outfits, and in country like the United States, market-based health care systems rely primarily on private Health Insurance. The health insurance industry in the US is composed of major US health insurance companies like Aetna, Aflac, Assurant, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, The Regence Group, and others.

History :

Prior to 1920, the state of medical technology was not very developed implying little hope for patients, and patients were mostly treated in their homes. It was seen that wages lost due to sickness were four times larger than the medical expenditures associated with treating the illness and hence people didn't opt much for Health Insurance and rather preferred "sickness" insurance (similar to today's "disability" insurance) more. The low demand for Health Insurance also discouraged the insurance companies to offer private health insurance policies, and moreover those companies were reluctant to engage in heath insurance business since it was vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. The low acceptability of health insurance also hindered the development of a mandatory and nationalized health insurance scheme in the US. The American commercial insurance firms offered burial insurance to pay funeral costs.

The Age of Health Insurance :

By the 1960s, private health insurance system in the United States was well established. In 1958, nearly 75 percent of Americans had some form of private health insurance coverage. Around this time the move to establish a government-sponsored health insurance system was also strongly emphasized upon. The Medicare and Medicaid policies had come into effect. Nevertheless the health insurance market in the US, as mentioned earlier, is dominated by the private insurance companies and there are a large number of private health insurance companies in the US which cover all possible aspects of human illness and disability and offers all kinds of customer-friendly policies to choose from.

For more information on various notable health insurance companies in the US, please explore the following links:

Aetna - Providers of health, dental, group, life, disability and long-term health care benefits.

AFLAC - he company was formerly known as the American Family Life Assurance Company, but in 1990 the acronym of AFLAC was formally adopted as its legal name. Aflac is mainly concerned with supplemental health and life insurance products.

American Medical Security Life Insurance Company - The American Medical Security Life Insurance Company offers health insurance products and services for individuals, families, and groups.

America's Health Insurance Plans - America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the voice of America's health insurers. AHIP is the national association.  

Anthem - Anthem is an independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Indiana, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Virginia. 

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield - Founded in 1948, the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the largest health insurer in Arkansas, the US, serving nearly 40 percent of the fully insured market. 

Assurant - Assurant's businesses provide a unique variety of products and services that assure opportunity, security and peace of mind for our customers.

Asuris Northwest Health - Asuris mainly offers three individual health plans such as: Health Savings Account, Comprehensive Coverage Plan, and Catastrophic Coverage Plan.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield - The Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association is a national (insurance) business organization which links 38 independent regional health insurance companies in the United States as well as Puerto Rico. 

Business Health Insurance - Compare leading business health insurance providers to find the right employee benefits plan.

Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield - CareFirst, Inc. is not-for-profit parent company of Care First of Maryland, Inc. and Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc., affiliates which conduct operation as Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield . 

Celtic Insurance Co. - Celtic Insurance Company is one of the country’s leading nationwide individual health insurance providers. We offer quality affordable medical insurance for individuals and families, as well as the self-employed.
 
CIGNA  (NYSE: CI ) - A Business of Caring

eHealthInsurance - Compare health insurance quotes side-by-side, eHealthInsurance helps you find affordable health insurance. 

Fortis - provide both personal lines and small commercial insurance packages through brokers across the UK. We have our 24 hour in house Fortis Onecall claims helpline and Assistance International our 24 hour medical service for overseas travellers. 

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey ( Horizon BCBSNJ ) - The oldest and largest health insurer in New Jersy, USA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey ( BCBSNJ ) formally came into existence when the Blue Cross of New Jersey and Blue Shield of New Jersey had merged together in 1986 (Horizon BCBSNJ traces its history back to 1932 when Associated Hospitals of Essex County, Inc. was formed as a multi-hospital prepayment plan).

Health Insurance - Specializing in health insurance, affordable, medical, dental, group, and health plans, ppo and individual health insurance.

Golden Rule Insurance Company - Golden Rule was accredited with "A" (Excellent) rating for the first time in June 1985 by A.M. Best. It has also been recognized by Ward Group as one of the 50 Life-Health “Top Performers” companies in the US.
 
Group Health Inc. - Health Plan Association (HPA) awarded Health Plan Achievement Award to GHI for its efforts to improve the health of its members and communities. 

The Regence Group - It is the largest affiliation of health-care Plans in the Pacific Northwest/Mountain State region and is composed of Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield in Washington .

Insurance Care Direct - Insurance health direct offers insurance plans like family, individual, group, short term, student, supplemental & life insurance. 

Kaiser Permanente - Offers health plans and health insurance covers for medicare, families and employers.

UNICARE - UniCare offers affordable solutions for your health, medical, dental, pharmacy, vision and life insurance needs.

UnitedHealthCare - Get health insurance and medical care options that meet your needs from UnitedHealthcare.