Bronze VS. Catastrophic Plans

In the state-run health insurance marketplaces, the government-approved health insurance plans are divided into five tiers: platinum, gold, silver, bronze and catastrophic. Analysts expect young adults to gravitate toward the bronze and catastrophic plans, which are the lowest-cost options.

Both the bronze and the catastrophic plans cover basic preventive health services, including cholesterol tests, immunizations and screenings for depression and alcoholism (a full list is here). Both also cover, to varying degrees, all 10 categories of “essential health services”: hospitalizations, emergency services, ambulatory (outpatient care) services, some maternity and newborn care, pediatric care, vision and dental care for children, mental health and behavioral health treatment, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, laboratory services and chronic care services.