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'''Health insurance''' is [[insurance]] against expenses incurred from [[health care]]. In the [[United States]], health insurance is a service provided by private companies, but in many countries (including [[Canada]]), health insurance is partially or completely funded and administered by the [[government]].
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==In the United States==
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In the United States, health insurance is a service provided by private companies. Generally, businesses in the United States negotiate health insurance services for their employees, who then pay for a portion their health insurance with an automatic deduction from their paychecks, although some people buy health insurance services on their own.
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There are two types of payments for insurance services under the American model. The periodic payment, paid in order to maintain health insurance coverage, is called the [[premium]]. When a worker's insurance pays a medical expense, a certain fixed amount of the expense is paid by the worker. This payment is called the [[deductible]].
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While most Americans with health insurance through a private company, the United States federal government does provide insurance to certain US citizens. Impoverished people may be eligible for [[Medicaid]], which is a program funded by the federal government and administered by the states, and elderly and disabled people are eligible for [[Medicare]], which is administered and funded by the federal government. Both involve contracts with private insurance companies to actually provide services.
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==Terminology==
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Some people make no distinction between the ''services'' provided by [[health care]] professionals and the ''insurance'' which pays for these services (see "[[Universal health care]]").
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==See also==
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*[[HMO]], i.e., "[[health maintenance organization]]"
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[[category:medicine]]
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