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Dozens of companies sell health insurance in the US, but you might be surprised to learn which insurers are the biggest.
While some of these major health insurance companies are household names, others may seem obscure to the average consumer. Here is the list of the 50 largest health insurance companies in the US and a deeper look at each of the top five.
Featured health insurance partners
Coverage area
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, DC
Number of providers in the network
About 1.2 million
The doctor’s co-payment starts from
$20
Coverage area:
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, DC
Number of providers in the network
About 1.7 million
The doctor’s co-payment starts from
$10
Coverage area
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, DC
Number of providers in the network
About 1.5 million
The doctor’s co-payment starts from
$0
The 50 largest health insurance companies in the US 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 funded health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid, including Medi-Cal
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated health care system that includes both health care providers and insurance coverage.
The company specializes in a model of care 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 up the process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
Elevance Health (Anthem)
Elevance Health — formerly known as Anthem — carries the Anthem and Wellpoint brands, which includes multiple Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
Elevance offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer funded health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid
- Additional insurance
HCSC
Health Care Service Corp. is the largest customer-owned health insurer in the US 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 funded health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Supplement to Medicare
- Medicaid
HCSC affiliates and subsidiaries offer other types of coverage, including group life, disability and dental insurance.
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of 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 funded health insurance
- Medicare Advantage
- Medicaid
- Short-term health insurance
- Additional insurance
UnitedHealthcare has partnerships with more than 1.3 million healthcare providers and 6,500 hospitals and other types of medical facilities in the US
Centene Corp.
Centene, which includes subsidiaries Ambetter, Health Net, Fidelis Care and Wellcare, serves members in all 50 states. Centene offers the following types of plans:
- Individual health insurance
- Employer funded 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.
The 10 largest individual health insurance companies in the US
Here are the top health insurance companies for individual health insurance and ACA marketplace plans.
The 10 largest group health insurance companies in the US
Group health insurance is how most people get health insurance before they reach Medicare age. Here are the largest health insurance companies in the group health insurance market.
Largest health insurance companies by country
The largest health insurance companies vary by state. In some states, national insurers such as UnitedHealthcare dominate, while in other states a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan will have the largest membership. Here are the top health insurance companies by state for group and individual health insurance members.
Find the best health insurance companies for 2023
Frequently asked questions about the largest health insurance companies
What is the largest individual health insurance company?
Centene Corp. has the most individual health insured members in the US with 13.26% of the market share. By comparison, No. 2 GuideWell (Florida Blue) has just 8.19%.
Overall, Centene ranks 5th 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. uses its products. It is the number 1 plan provider in the health insurance market.
Who is the largest group health insurance insurer?
Kaiser Permanente is the largest group health insurance company in the USA. It has 14.85% of the group health insurance market, well ahead of No. 2 UnitedHealth Group (8.42%).
Kaiser Permanente is also the largest overall health insurer, with 12.81% of the total health insurance market.
Kaiser Permanente’s network of providers includes 23,656 physicians, 65,005 nurses, 734 medical offices and 39 hospitals.
Should you choose the largest health insurance company?
There are advantages to choosing a large health insurance company. Large insurers may have large networks of health care providers and hospitals, which increases your range of choices.
However, the size of the health insurance company should not be the only criteria you look at when choosing health insurance. Some other things to consider 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.