Along with all of the controversy about health insurance and the Affordable Health Care Act, there’s a lot of information. And confusion. Where exactly is the best place to go to find information on health insurance without being roped into policies that might not be right for you? Does the part of the country that you live in affect rates and the types of policies that you can obtain? Does the state? Say that you as a Texan wanted to learn more about insurance quotes and rates. You may know that the average “self-pay” rate for a Texan is $267 per month. But what exactly does that mean? The answers must be out there somewhere, but where would you start to look?

It shouldn’t be surprising that a state the size of Texas offers a number of informational options, all located online. Employers seeking to set up programs offering coverage to staff can contact the National Health Insurance Company (https://nhic.com/), which can not only offer Texas insurance quotes, it can offer polices tailored to your business. Products include short term medical, short term disability, limited medical, and accidental death, with policy coverage ranging from as little as $250 to $2,000,000 per month.

For individuals wanting to learn more about Texas health insurance rates and information on obtaining health insurance in Texas in general, they can start by going to healthinsurance.org (http://www.healthinsurance.org/texas/). This is a national organization, but it has lots of good information on Texans’ enrollment history, the rights of Texans in obtaining coverage, and organizations that can help them to get it. And yes, it also has a search engine that provides seekers with Texas insurance quotes. Another site that policy seekers might find helpful is the state’s Department of Insurance (http://www.tdi.texas.gov/). This agency is tasked helping Texas consumers obtain all types of insurance, including health. It not only provides consumers with lists of vendors providing health insurance, it can act as a mediator in resolving disputes between policy holders and insurance companies. The website also provides a number of insurance related links and downloadable forms. Policy seekers who are already confident about policy coverage that they’re looking for and ready to decide on a provider may want to go to the Texas Quotes (https://www.texasquotes.com/) website to compare rates offered by some of the most popular insurers in Texas, which includes Aetna, Cigna, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Searchers looking for rate and provider options can also go to healthcare.com (http://insurance.healthplans.com/get-quotes/) to learn more about lower-cost policy options from a number of providers. This site also helps you determine if you are eligible for federal subsidies and tax penalty extensions.

And unfortunately, even with all the information out there, there are fly-by-night companies and scams that don’t mind parting individuals from their money without paying adequate coverage. In addition to the Insurance Department, consumers can go to the Coalition For Insurance Fraud (http://www.insurancefraud.org/) website, which provides tutorials on how to avoid becoming a victim, in addition to regional and national updates and alerts, and a monthly newsletter. So while Texans remain behind the national average in obtaining health insurance, there’s really no reason to retain this record. Thoughtful research can result in desired coverage for them, at affordable prices.