Lowest monthly premium

Highest costs when you use healthcare services.

Bronze plan deductibles — the amount of healthcare costs you pay yourself before your insurance plan starts to pay — can be thousands of dollars a year.

Good choice if: You want a low-cost way to protect yourself from worst-case medical scenarios, like a serious illness or injury. Your monthly premium will be low, but you’ll have to pay for most routine care yourself.

Moderate monthly premium

Moderate costs when you use healthcare services.

Silver deductibles — the costs you pay yourself before your plan pays anything — are usually lower than those of Bronze plans.

IMPORTANT: If you qualify for cost-sharing reductions you must pick a Silver plan to access these savings. You can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year depending on how much care you use.

Good choice if: You qualify for cost-sharing reductions— or, if not, you’re willing to pay a slightly higher monthly premium than Bronze to have more of your routine care covered.

Higher monthly premium

Lower costs when you use healthcare services

Gold plan deductibles are usually low.

Good choice if: You’re willing to pay more each month to have more costs covered when you use healthcare services. If you use a lot of care, a Gold plan could be a good value.

Highest monthly premium

Lowest costs when you use healthcare services.

Deductibles are very low, meaning your plan starts paying its share for covered services earlier than other plan categories.

Good choice if: You usually use a lot of care and are willing to pay a higher monthly premium, knowing nearly all other costs will be covered.