Of course the question what is health insurance is really too simplistic as there are many things that are covered by this. But what they all have in common is that they pay the medical costs for the person that has the insurance if they get sick or have an accident. There can be exclusions that are applied to the insurance so that the insurer does not have to pay the huge costs that are associated with some illnesses. This is even more so in some cheaper coverage policies, as this is one way that the insurer can keep the costs down.
There are really two basic types of health insurance. There is private health insurance and there is also public sector health insurance. If you are buying private health insurance you will need to find the best company by looking through all the companies that are in your price range so that you get the best deal for your money. You need to look at how much it will cost and what are the benefits that it will give you. You also need to check how much the deductibles are. These are the costs that you have to pay before the health insurance starts to pay the costs of your treatment. The higher the deductibles the lower the cost of the insurance. If your employer supplies your health insurance then you might not get to make all of the decisions that you would like, but it can be the most efficient way to get cover for you and your family.
The other type of health insurance is public sector health insurance. This is usually supplied through Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is usually used to supply insurance for the elderly and Medicaid is a way of making sure that the poor are able to get healthcare if they are not able to provide it for themselves or their families. It is preferable to have private health insurance as you get to have more control over you treatments and whom you are treated by but the public insurance is a good way of making sure that most people are able to get healthcare.