Health insurance marketplace

In the United States, health insurance marketplaces, also called health exchanges, are organizations set up to facilitate the purchase of health insurance in each state in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, known colloquially as "Obamacare"). Marketplaces provide a set of government-regulated and standardized health care plans from which individuals may purchase health insurance policies eligible for federal subsidies.

All ACA health exchanges were to be fully certified and operational by January 1, 2014, under federal law. Enrollment in the marketplaces started on October 1, 2013, and continued for six months. As of April 19, 2014, 8.02 million people had signed up through the health insurance marketplaces. An additional 4.8 million joined Medicaid. Enrollment for 2015 began November 15, 2014 and ended December 15, 2014.

Private non-ACA health care exchanges also exist in many states, responsible for enrolling 3 million people. These exchanges predate the Affordable Care Act and facilitate insurance plans for employees of small and medium size businesses.