Health insurance

Health insurance is insurance against expenses incurred from health care. In the United States, health insurance is a service provided by private companies, but in many countries (including Canada), health insurance is partially or completely funded and administered by the government.

In the United States, health insurance is a service provided by private companies. Generally, businesses in the United States negotiate health insurance services for their employees, who then pay for a portion their health insurance with an automatic deduction from their paychecks, although some people buy health insurance services on their own.

There are two types of payments for insurance services under the American model. The periodic payment, paid in order to maintain health insurance coverage, is called the premium. When a worker's insurance pays a medical expense, a certain fixed amount of the expense is paid by the worker. This payment is called the deductible.

While most Americans with health insurance through a private company, the United States federal government does provide insurance to certain US citizens. Impoverished people may be eligible for Medicaid, which is a program funded by the federal government and administered by the states, and elderly and disabled people are eligible for Medicare, which is administered and funded by the federal government. Both involve contracts with private insurance companies to actually provide services.

Some people make no distinction between the services provided by health care professionals and the insurance which pays for these services (see "Universal health care").

• HMO, i.e., "health maintenance organization"