What Is Catastrophic Health Insurance?

Catastrophic health insurance is a low-cost health insurance plan with a high deductible. Catastrophic plans cover three primary care visits before you've met your deductible and preventive care is covered at no cost. To get catastrophic coverage, you must be under the age of 30 or have a hardship or affordability exemption that makes a Marketplace or job-based insurance plan difficult to get.

How Much Is Catastrophic Health Insurance?

The cost of catastrophic health insurance varies by state. However, premiums are usually fairly low for these types of plans while deductibles are high. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the annual deductible for catastrophic plans in 2023 is about $9,100. That means the insurance provider would cover 100% of in-network costs once you've paid $9,100 out-of-pocket. Premium costs vary by state.

What Is a Health Insurance Copayment?

A health insurance copay is a fixed amount of money you pay for covered medical services. For example, if your health plan has a $30 copay for primary care visits, that is the amount you pay when you visit your primary care provider. Plans with a lower monthly premium usually have higher copays and vice versa.

What Is a Health Insurance Deductible?

Your health insurance deductible is the amount of money you pay for qualifying medical care before your insurance company will start to pay its portion. Insurance deductibles only apply to certain expenses, like hospitalizations and outpatient surgery. At the end of the year, your deductible resets. Many insurance plans provide coverage for certain services before your deductible is met such as preventive care, vaccines, and diagnostic screenings.

What Doesn't a Catastrophic Health Insurance Plan Cover?

Catastrophic health insurance has some limits on preventative care coverage, though that varies by plan. It also doesn't cover emergency care until you've met your deductible.

Health Insurance

Best Catastrophic Health Insurance of 2023

Blue Cross Blue Shield has the best catastrophic health plans and an extensive nationwide provider network

Elizabeth Rivelli

Updated March 30, 2023

Fact checked by

Michael Rosenston

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Catastrophic health plans are sold through the Health Insurance Marketplace or each state’s exchange. A few companies offer them if you’re under 30 years old or if you have a qualifying exemption that makes a Marketplace or job-based health plan unaffordable. Catastrophic plans aren’t a replacement for regular medical insurance. They have low premiums but high deductibles, so you pay for most routine medical expenses out of pocket.

To select the best catastrophic health plan companies, we analyzed top health insurers across key categories including National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and healthcare.gov customer satisfaction ratings, state availability, plan features, types of plans, plan benefits, dental coverage, discounts and incentives, and cost.

Best Catastrophic Health Insurance of 2023

Best Overall: Blue Cross Blue Shield
Best for Health Management Programs: Oscar
Best for Customer Satisfaction: Kaiser Permanente

Best Overall : Blue Cross Blue Shield

Investopedia's Rating

4.7

Availability: All 50 states
NCQA Rating: 3.73 out of 5 stars
Additional Features: Blue365 program discounts

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Why We Chose It

Blue Cross Blue Shield is our top pick as the best overall provider of catastrophic health insurance because it is available nationwide, with an extensive network of doctors and hospitals. The company also has high third-party ratings and offers additional member discounts.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Member discounts through the Blue365 program
Extensive provider network
BlueCard Program for nationwide care
High average NCQA rating

Cons

Catastrophic plans aren’t available nationwide
Premiums relatively high in some states

Overview

Like all catastrophic plans, BCBS catastrophic plans cover 100% of most medical services, including doctor’s visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations, once the deductible is met. Unlike all other providers, though, BCBS has an extensive nationwide provider network with more than 1.7 million doctors and hospitals providing nationwide coverage. If you need medical care while traveling domestically or internationally, you can use your BlueCard to submit claims outside of your local BCBS coverage area.

The company also has good third-party ratings. In the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Commercial Health Plan Study, BCBS was rated the top health insurance company for overall customer satisfaction in 12 of 22 regions. Its average NCQA rating is 3.73 out of 5, which is the second-highest score of the companies we reviewed.

Another perk of BCBS is its Blue365 program, which gives you access to discounts on things like healthy food, fitness classes, medical devices, personal care items, and travel. Because BCBS plans are sold and administered by 34 independent and local organizations, the plan options and plan costs will vary based on your location.

Best for Health Management Programs : Oscar

Investopedia's Rating

4.4

Availability: 22 states
NCQA Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Additional Features: Free virtual urgent and primary care

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Why We Chose It

Oscar offers an extensive range of health management programs for a reasonable price, as well as low costs on catastrophic and other health plans.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Offers a wide range of health management programs
$0 virtual urgent and primary care
Mobile app that rewards you for healthy habits

Cons

Low NCQA rating
Not available nationwide

Overview

Oscar offers health management programs for a variety of different conditions, including asthma, heart disease, depression, diabetes, pregnancy, weight loss, high blood pressure and cholesterol, pain management, and low back pain. It also offers low premiums on catastrophic plans but offers the most affordable health insurance coverage for other metal-level plans.

Oscar’s catastrophic plan members also get access to a variety of customer perks, like $0 virtual primary care and urgent care through Oscar Care, plus a dedicated team to answer your medical questions. You can also use the Oscar Health app to refill prescriptions, message your care team, and make appointments. You can even earn up to $75 per year for tracking your steps on the app.

However, Oscar’s average NCQA rating is 2.75 out of 5, which is the lowest of the providers we reviewed.

Best for Customer Satisfaction : Kaiser Permanente

Investopedia's Rating

4.1

Availability: 9 states
NCQA Rating: 4.28 out of 5 stars
Additional Features: 24/7 virtual care and advice line

Get a Quote

Why We Chose It

Kaiser Permanente has high third-party ratings and the best customer satisfaction out of the insurers we reviewed.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Excellent customer satisfaction rating from J.D. Power
Highest NCQA plan rating
Some plans include vision coverage for kids
24/7 telehealth and care advice line

Cons

Only available in nine states
No adult dental benefits

Overview

In J.D. Power’s U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Study, Kaiser Permanente is rated as the top provider for customer satisfaction in five regions. It also has the highest NCQA rating, with an average score of 4.28 out of 5. And the company’s plans get perfect 5-star ratings from healthcare.gov.

Kaiser Permanente members have access to 24/7 virtual care and a 24/7 advice line with medical professionals. Some catastrophic health plans also include coverage for children’s vision exams and glasses at no charge.

You might be able to find some catastrophic health plans that include children’s dental insurance, but Kaiser Permanente doesn't offer adult dental coverage on any of its health insurance plans.

Final Verdict

Blue Cross Blue Shield stands out for its large provider network, excellent ratings, and member perks. Plus, BCBS makes it easy for members to get covered medical care anywhere in the U.S. or abroad through the BlueCard program. These are a few reasons it’s also our top pick for best health insurance company overall.

Oscar also offers affordable coverage plus makes an array of medical management programs available with its catastrophic plans. But if you want the best customer service, choose Kaiser Permanente (if it’s available in your area).

Compare the Best Catastrophic Health Insurance Providers

Company	Availability	NCQA Rating	Additional Features
Blue Cross Blue Shield Best Overall	All 50 states	3.37 out of 5 stars	Blue365 program discounts
Oscar Best for Health Management Programs	22 states	2.75 out of 5 stars	Free virtual urgent and primary care
Kaiser Permanente Best for Customer Satisfaction	Nine states	4.28 out of 5 stars	24/7 virtual care and advice line

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Catastrophic Health Insurance?

Catastrophic health insurance is a low-cost health insurance plan with a high deductible. Catastrophic plans cover three primary care visits before you've met your deductible and preventive care is covered at no cost. To get catastrophic coverage, you must be under the age of 30 or have a hardship or affordability exemption that makes a Marketplace or job-based insurance plan difficult to get.
How Much Is Catastrophic Health Insurance?

The cost of catastrophic health insurance varies by state. However, premiums are usually fairly low for these types of plans while deductibles are high. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the annual deductible for catastrophic plans in 2023 is about $9,100. That means the insurance provider would cover 100% of in-network costs once you've paid $9,100 out-of-pocket. Premium costs vary by state.
What Is a Health Insurance Copayment?

A health insurance copay is a fixed amount of money you pay for covered medical services. For example, if your health plan has a $30 copay for primary care visits, that is the amount you pay when you visit your primary care provider. Plans with a lower monthly premium usually have higher copays and vice versa.
What Is a Health Insurance Deductible?

Your health insurance deductible is the amount of money you pay for qualifying medical care before your insurance company will start to pay its portion. Insurance deductibles only apply to certain expenses, like hospitalizations and outpatient surgery. At the end of the year, your deductible resets.
Many insurance plans provide coverage for certain services before your deductible is met such as preventive care, vaccines, and diagnostic screenings.
What Doesn't a Catastrophic Health Insurance Plan Cover?

Catastrophic health insurance has some limits on preventative care coverage, though that varies by plan. It also doesn't cover emergency care until you've met your deductible.

Methodology

To determine the best catastrophic health insurance companies for 2023, we considered criteria in the following categories.

Customer satisfaction: We used NCQA ratings, primarily, and healthcare.gov ratings, secondarily, to measure this criteria.
State availability: This measure indicates how widely available plans are across the U.S.
Plan features: For each company, we collected and analyzed whether it offered the following:
Types of plans: HMO, PPO, EPO, POS, and other plan types
Plan benefits: Programs to help manage asthma, heart disease, depression, diabetes, pain, high cholesterol and blood pressure, pregnancy, low back pain, and weight loss, plus other benefits like vision coverage
Dental coverage: Coverage for child dental, adult dental, both, or neither
Catastrophic coverage: Coverage defined as "minimum coverage" by some providers or "catastrophic" by others
Discounts and incentives: We considered whether companies offer discounts and/or incentives to plan members.
Cost: We considered premiums and deductibles for catastrophic plans across two ZIP codes, representing the highest enrollment in ACA plans by state.

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Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

J.D. Power. "2022 U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Study."
Kaiser Family Foundation. "Catastrophic Health Plans."
Kaiser Family Foundation. "What Is a Catastrophic Health Plan?"