Silver Plan

State health insurance Marketplaces may offer up to five levels of health coverage. Four plan designs are named after a type of metal – bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. So you may hear these called the metal plans. There are also catastrophic health plans for people younger than 30. Each plan design must cover all 10 essential health benefits.

A silver plan pays for more out-of-pocket medical costs than a bronze or catastrophic policy but less than a gold or platinum plan. Each company selling health insurance in a Marketplace must offer at least one silver-level plan.

Silver plans pay, on average, 70% of the cost for the benefits that the plan covers. That leaves you to pay about 30%.

Tax credits are based on the cost of the second least expensive silver plan sold in your area, but you can use the credit for any plan sold on the Marketplace.People with lower incomes can also qualify for reduced out-of-pocket costs. However, they must enroll in a silver-level plan to take advantage of these discounts.

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