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Scores of companies sell health insurance in the U.S., but you might be surprised to learn which insurers are the largest.
While some of these large health insurance companies are household names, others might seem obscure to the average consumer. Here is the list of the 50 largest health insurance companies in the U.S., and a deeper look at each of the top five.
Featured Health Insurance Partners
Coverage area
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Number of providers in network
About 1.2 million
Physician copays start at
$20
Coverage area:
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Number of providers in network
About 1.7 million
Physician copays start at
$10
Coverage area
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Number of providers in network
About 1.5 million
Physician copays start at
$0
50 Largest Health Insurance Companies in the U.S. Overall
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente serves members in eight states and the District of Columbia. It offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid, including Medi-Cal
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated health system that includes both health care providers and insurance coverage.
The company specializes in a care model that encourages teams of experts to collaborate across departments and specialties, such as cancer care, cardiac care, maternity and pediatrics. The company says this helps speed the process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
Elevance Health (Anthem)
Elevance Health—formerly known as Anthem—features the brands of Anthem and Wellpoint, which includes multiple Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
Elevance offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid
- Supplemental insurance
HCSC
Health Care Service Corp. is the largest customer-owned health insurer in the U.S. and serves members in five states. It operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
HCSC offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicare supplement
- Medicaid
HCSC affiliates and subsidiaries offer other types of coverage, including group life, disability and dental insurance.
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group, parent company for UnitedHealthcare, offers Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage to individuals and families in 18 states.
UnitedHealthcare offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid
- Short-term health insurance
- Supplemental insurance
UnitedHealthcare has partnerships with more than 1.3 million medical providers and 6,500 hospitals and other types of care facilities in the U.S.
Centene Corp.
Centene, which includes subsidiaries like Ambetter, Health Net, Fidelis Care and Wellcare, serves members in all 50 states. Centene offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid
Centene is the largest Medicaid managed care organization, with plans in four of the largest Medicaid states: California, Florida, New York and Texas.
10 Largest Individual Health Insurance Companies in the U.S.
Here are the biggest health insurance companies for individual health insurance and ACA marketplace plans.
10 Largest Group Health Insurance Companies in the U.S.
Group health insurance is how most people get health insurance before they reach Medicare age. Here are the biggest health insurance companies in the group health insurance market.
Largest Health Insurance Companies by State
The largest health insurance companies vary by state. In some states, national insurers like UnitedHealthcare dominate, while in other states a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan will have the largest membership. Here are the biggest health insurance companies by state for group and individual health insurance members.
Find The Best Health Insurance Companies Of 2022
Largest Health Insurance Companies FAQ
What is the biggest individual health insurance company?
Centene Corp. has the most individual health insurance members in the U.S. with 13.26% of the market share. For comparison, No. 2 GuideWell (Florida Blue) has just 8.19%.
Overall, Centene ranks No. 5 among health insurance companies when combining group and individual commercial health insurance policies, with 6.17% of the market.
Centene says nearly one in 15 people in the U.S. use its products. It is the No. 1 provider of plans on the health insurance marketplace.
What is the largest insurer for group health insurance?
Kaiser Permanente is the biggest group health insurance company in the U.S. It has 14.85% of the group health insurance market, considerably ahead of No. 2 UnitedHealth Group (8.42%).
Kaiser Permanente is also the biggest overall health insurer, with 12.81% of the total health insurance market.
Kaiser Permanente’s provider network includes 23,656 physicians, 65,005 nurses, 734 medical offices and 39 hospitals.
Should you choose the largest health insurance company?
There are perks to choosing a large health insurance company. Big insurers may have large networks of health care providers and hospitals, increasing your range of choices.
However, the size of a health insurer should not be the only criteria you look at when choosing health insurance. Some other things to keep in mind include:
- How much will you pay in premiums and cost-sharing such as deductibles?
- Are your doctors in the health plan’s network?
- How does the insurer rank in terms of customer satisfaction?
As with any type of insurance product, the right choice is the one that best suits your individual wants and needs.
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