health insurance

noun

Definition of health insurance

: insurance against loss through illness of the insured especially : insurance providing compensation for medical expenses

Examples of health insurance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

A few weeks later, every school in the state shut down as teachers rallied outside the state Capitol, angry about a meager 1 percent raise and rising health insurance premiums. — Alexia Fernández Campbell, Vox, "He just lost a congressional race for West Virginia’s Third District.," 12 Nov. 2018 To combat that, a variety of organizations are stepping in to help LGBT youth, particularly those who lack health insurance or support from their parents. — Lauren Castle, azcentral, "Arizona groups offer health, housing help to LGBT youth," 14 July 2018 The tax bill also ends the Affordable Care Act’s penalty for lacking health insurance. — Washington Post, "The Health 202: This is what happens to Medicare when you cut taxes but not spending," 6 June 2018 Almost half of non-citizen women of reproductive age with low incomes lack health insurance. — Cecile Richards, Time, "Cecile Richards: 'Reproductive Justice and Immigrant Justice Are Part of the Same Fight'," 14 Feb. 2018 Since Flex drivers are technically self-employed, Amazon isn’t responsible for the types of costs that are usually associated with having a team of workers, like payroll taxes, worker’s compensation, health insurance, or other benefits. — Gaby Del Valle, Vox, "Amazon is cutting costs with its own delivery service — but its drivers don’t receive benefits," 26 Dec. 2018 An obvious culprit in the affordability problem facing Texans is the lack of health insurance, Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation president and CEO, said in a statement. — Jenny Deam, Houston Chronicle, "Texans missing or delaying needed treatment because health costs too high," 12 July 2018 Even when black women had health insurance, Freeman and others found, there were often critical delays between screening and biopsy, or between a positive biopsy and follow-up. — Clifton Leaf, Fortune, "Brainstorm Health: Biden Cancer Initiative Award, Biotech Gender Diversity, Mediterranean Diet Study," 14 June 2018 Also, many residents in these places lack health insurance, don't own homes and have little or no personal savings. — Russ Wiles, azcentral, "Mesa tops Phoenix, Tucson in study of prosperity among large cities," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'health insurance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near health insurance

health maintenance organization

Statistics for health insurance

Last Updated

28 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for health insurance

The first known use of health insurance was in 1901

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More Definitions for health insurance

health insurance

noun

Financial Definition of health insurance

What It Is

Health insurance is insurance that covers some or all of the costs of an individuals healthcare.

How It Works

Health insurance absorbs or offsets healthcare costs associated with, but not limited to, routine health examinations, specialist referral visits, inpatient and outpatient surgery, unforeseen eventualities such as illnesses or injuries, and prescription medication. Health insurance policies are categorized as privately paid for by an individual, publicly provided as a service through Social Security, or commercially arranged by a company as part of an employee benefit package.

Broader levels of health insurance coverage generally have higher premium costs. In many cases, the insured party is responsible for paying his/her healthcare provider an up-front, tax deductible amount called co-pay. Health insurance companies then may compensate healthcare providers directly or reimburse the policy holder based on the remaining portion of an itemized bill.

Why It Matters

Health insurance primarily protects individuals from the prohibitively high costs of surgical procedures, inpatient hospital care, and emergency attention. Though health insurance itself can become costly for a family, it is only a small fraction of the potential costs associated with unforeseen illnesses and emergencies (for example, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer or a heart attack).

Source: Investing Answers

health insurance

noun

Medical Definition of health insurance

: insurance against loss through illness of the insured especially : insurance providing compensation for medical expenses

health insurance

noun

Legal Definition of health insurance

: insurance against loss through illness or injury of the insured especially : insurance providing compensation for medical expenses and often income for disability