A self-employed person or a freelancer is a person who carries out a business on their own and is not employed by a company. In such a case you can purchase a health insurance from the individual Health Insurance Marketplace. If you have even a single employee, you will have to use the SHOP Marketplace for small businesses to enroll in health coverage.
As a self-employed individual, it is highly important to get covered to avoid the risk of paying huge health care bills. There are plenty of health insurance options for the self-employed, ranging from plans with low premiums to plans with high premiums but less or no out-of-pocket costs.

There are mainly four categories in the marketplace – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Bronze has the lowest monthly premium and is highly useful if you want to cover yourself for serious medical issues such as illness or injury. However, you will have to pay for most of the routine care out of your own pocket. The silver category has a moderate monthly premium and out-of-pocket costs. It is suitable if you want more of your routine care to be covered. The gold category has a high monthly premium and low routine care costs. This category covers most of your medical treatments. The platinum category has the highest monthly premium and the lowest out-of-pocket costs.

Here are a few places from where you can obtain health insurance at affordable prices as a self-employed individual or freelancer.

• Since the Affordable Care Act has been passed, you can obtain health insurance from the individual Health Insurance Marketplace.
• The Freelancers Union offers several health insurance plans.
• If you are married, a Domestic Partner’s Health insurance can work out to be convenient and inexpensive for you. You can qualify for this insurance even if you are not legally married, but share a home with your partner.
• You can obtain a self-employed health insurance from your local chamber of commerce, business groups, professional association or independent worker association.