There are many Ohio health insurance companies that offer individual and family coverage to Ohio residents. Anthem Blue Cross, UnitedHealthCare and Aetna are the three largest carriers. But there are numerous other companies that offer medical coverage in Ohio.

To help you select the most affordable Ohio health insurance plan, a comprehensive list of the major Ohio health insurance companies is listed below:

Anthem Blue Cross is the largest Ohio health insurance company, providing coverage to almost one out of every four insureds.  A wide variety of plans are available, including “Blue Access Plan 2,” Anthem’s most comprehensive policy. The “Value” plans offer substantial discounts in exchange for limitations of office visit and prescription coverage.

UPDATE: In March of 2009, Anthem introduced three new Ohio health insurance plans. The “Premier” plan is a comprehensive policy featuring lower out-of-pocket costs. The “SmartSense” plan is a comprehensive plan with some limitations in benefits. And the “Lumenos HSA” plan ha some new features.

Medical Mutual of Ohio (MMO) is one of the oldest Ohio health insurance companies. Recently, they expanded their plan portfolio to include some lower-cost plans. Their smoker rates are very competitive, but MMO’s Health Savings Account (HSA) policies have higher out-of-pocket costs than many companies.

UnitedHealthCare  (UHC) offers a broad range of polices at extremely competitive rates. After purchasing Golden Rule Insurance company a few years ago, UHC’s market share substantially increased. Rates are based on zip codes, as opposed to the more common county-rating system. At the very high BMI (Body Mass Index) ratings, UnitedHealthcare is not as forgiving as most other companies. One of UHC’s strong points is their large portfolio of Ohio health insurance plans.

Kaiser Permanente offers medical coverage to residents of Northern Ohio. Ohio residents in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati areas will not be able to obtain a policy.

Humana is not always the lowest-cost Ohio insurance company, but offers comprehensive plans with solid coverages. They are one of the few Ohio companies to offer maternity coverage, and have a very popular policy (Autograph Share 80 plan) that allows six office visits and is competitively priced.

Aetna began offering individual Ohio health insurance plans in 2005. Since that time, they have added many new plans, including the low-cost “Preventative and Hospital Care” policy. Overall, Aetna’s Ohio rates are extremely competitive.

Paramount Care is one of the largest Ohio health companies serving northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. It is locally owned with a primary focus on service and wellness.

Time Insurance (formerly Fortis) Company, offers more policy options than almost every other carrier. But, unfortunately, their rates in Ohio are extremely uncompetitive, and they also receive an unusually high number of consumer complaints.

For a personalized recommendation based on your needs or an instant Ohio health insurance quote, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” icon at the top of the page or email service@ohioquotes.com While there are hundreds of Ohio health insurance companies available to the consumer, we’ll personally select and review the handful of plans that will be your best options. And unlike many other websites, we never sell or give your information to any other person or company.

Did you really go online and request an Ohio health insurance quote? Well…let me guess what happened. You received 26 phone calls the first day, and about 15 calls every day for two weeks.

There are many low cost Ohio health insurance plans that have premiums 15%-40% lower than the typical standard plan. Coverages are often quite rich and the underwriting criteria is identical to all other plans.

Generally, the major differences between the most expensive plans and the “low cost” plans are the out of pocket expenses on major claims and the number of allowed office visits per year. Also, non-generic prescriptions may be limited or not covered under the low cost plans.

For example, the current monthly rate for a 40-year old male in Warren County is between $90 and $120 per month. Unlimited office visits and comprehensive prescription coverage is common on these types of policies.

But if price is the top priority, here are five low-cost Ohio health insurance options:

$50  Aetna’s  Preventative and Hospital Care plan. Limited office visit coverage with good preventative features

$60  Aetna’s PPO Value 5000 plan. Limited office visit coverage with some prescription coverage included.

$68  Anthem’s  Blue Access Value plan. Limited office visit coverage with some prescription coverage included.

$69  UnitedHealthCare’s Copay Select plan. Unlimited office visit coverage with comprehensive prescription coverage. $7500 deductible on major items.

$78  Aetna’s PPO 5000 plan. Unlimited office visit coverage with comprehensive prescription coverage.

All of these options are low cost Ohio health insurance plans issued by major reputable companies. There are never any application or enrollment fees and physicals are rarely required.

To instantly view and compare different plans, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page.

When you think of Ohio health insurance, Anthem Blue Cross is probably the first health insurance company that comes up. Granted, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Medical Mutual are big companies, but Anthem is Ohio’s flagship health insurance provider.

Like most companies, Anthem considers many factors when determining rates. Some of the factors include height/weight, current medications, medical history, smoking status, and of course, your age. County of residence and/or zip code will also affect the rate.

In most cases, Anthem’s rates tend to be their highest in the Northern portion of the state. The Columbus, Springfield,  Dayton and Cincinnati areas often feature Anthem’s most competitive rates.

Occasionally, Anthem, like most Ohio health insurance companies, will check your medical history with the Medical Information Bureau (MIB). The MIB is a membership corporation owned by member life insurance companies in the United States and Canada. It maintains a database for members to exchange confidential information of underwriting significance.

You are entitled to request a free copy of your report once per year. Simply call the MIB at  (866) 692-6901 .

To view, compare, and apply for high quality Ohio health insurance plans, please click on the “get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page. Your information remains secure and is never given or sold to any other broker or company.