The Health Insurance Marketplace refers to the federal health insurance exchange (www.healthcare.gov) and its related state exchanges (like Covered California or Nevada Health Link) established under the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare).
Through the federal and state websites, individuals and small businesses can search for and purchase health insurance coverage personally and for qualifying small businesses and their employees.
Small employers (generally those with 1 to 50 employees) may be able to enroll in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) through a participating insurance company or with the assistance of a SHOP-registered insurance agent or broker. As an alternative, businesses can get coverage for employees directly through an insurance carrier, through a broker working independently of SHOP, or through a private health insurance (with assistance from a broker).
If you have health insurance through your employer and your employment comes to an end, you may be offered the opportunity to maintain your group health insurance coverage using COBRA. You may find paying the full COBRA premium is expensive. It may be more affordable to switch to an individual health policy available through the Health Insurance Marketplace.