Gary Poster, with essential assists from Galyn Norwood, Phiroon Phihakendr, Jose Quijada, Pavandeep Kalra. If you buy your own, you're in charge, but your choices are limited by the plans available to individual purchasers and by how much you can afford to spend. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as standard coverage.
Details vary enormously from one plan to another.
The best value is not necessarily the plan with the cheapest premium or the one with the most benefits. Virtually everything else, including prescription drugs, glasses, psychotherapy and preventive care, such as immunizations and screenings, may or may not be covered, depending on the specific plan. To figure out how well a plan suits your needs, first make a list of the health services you and your family normally use. Once you've got a handle on how fully each plan covers your health needs, you can evaluate cost differences. If you do use a lot of services, it will be hard to gauge your actual costs, since you must factor in the deductible, co-payments, and any excess charges or uncovered services.