Private Health Insurance: Millions Relying on Individual Market Face Cost and Coverage Trade-Offs

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the private individual health insurance market, focusing on the: (1) size of the market and characteristics of its participants; (2) structure of the market, including how individuals access the market, the prices, other characteristics of health plans offered, and the number of individual carriers offering plans; and (3) insurance reforms and other measures states have taken to increase individuals' access to health insurance.