There are many options available for health insurance plans. You can become a part of an affordable employer-sponsored health insurance plan, if your employer offers health care benefits to his or her employees. You can purchase an individual health insurance policy. If you qualify, and have no other means of obtaining affordable health insurance, you can even take advantage of any state-sponsored health care plans your state offers.

There is also another way to obtain cheap, affordable health insurance. You can purchase a group health insurance policy without the help of your employer.

You may be wondering how you can purchase a group health insurance plan if you are not actually a group. There are actually several options available to you. Take the following three for examples:

HMOs and PPOs

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) are group health insurance plans that allow you to see certain networks of doctors and other health care professionals for a cheap, affordable group health insurance rate. Many employer-sponsored group health insurance programs use HMOs or PPOs; however, you can sometimes buy into one yourself.

Group Managed Care

Group Managed Care is a long term health insurance plan offered by an organization, such as a club for alumnae of the university from which you graduated, or a club for individuals of similar interests or occupations. For example, if you are a freelance web designer, you may find an association – or club – created for other self-employed web designers that offers cheap, affordable health insurance in the form of Group Managed Care to its members.

Association Group

Association Groups are similar to both employer-sponsored group health insurance plans and Group Managed Care in that you are offered cheap, affordable group health insurance through a particular entity. Common examples of an Association Group health insurance plan are credit card companies that offer group health insurance at cheap, affordable rates to their credit card holders.