HEALTH INSURANCE 101 | Complete Lesson + Cost of Life Simulation Activity

Make health insurance concepts easier for students to understand and actually apply! 

This complete Health Insurance 101 unit takes students from the real-world cost of healthcare through the basics of health insurance and finishes with an interactive simulation where they put what they’ve learned into practice.

Students explore premiums, deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximums, types of insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and more through a combination of presentation, guided notes, activities, practice calculations, and real-world scenarios.

The unit concludes with the Cost of Life Simulation, where students choose a health insurance plan and work through unpredictable Medical and Life events while tracking their savings, healthcare expenses, deductible, and out-of-pocket costs. Because cards are randomly selected, the simulation can play out differently each time!

INCLUDED:

• The Price of Health — Introductory Healthcare Cost Activity
  • Healthcare cost prediction activity (PDF)
  • Interactive answer reveal presentation (PowerPoint or Google Slides)
• Health Insurance 101 Presentation (PowerPoint or Google Slides)
  • Complete instructional presentation covering essential health insurance concepts:
    • Health insurance basics • Who pays for healthcare • Sources of health insurance coverage • Brief history of health insurance • Employer-sponsored insurance • Medicare • Medicaid • Health Insurance Marketplace • Provider networks • HMO, PPO, EPO & POS plans • Premiums • Deductibles • Co-pays • Coinsurance • Out-of-pocket maximums • Health insurance cost calculations
  • Optional Student Notes (PDF)
• Health Insurance 101 Practice & Assessment Worksheets (PDF)
  • Health Insurance 101
    • Health Insurance Vocabulary Practice — Students identify and apply key terms including premiums, deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums.
    • Which Coverage Fits Best? — Students analyze real-world scenarios to determine appropriate coverage options, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and common plan types such as HMO, PPO, EPO, and POS.
  • Catching a Break: A Health Insurance Cost Challenge — Students work through a realistic medical scenario and compare four insurance plans by calculating annual premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, co-pays, out-of-pocket maximums, and total yearly costs.
  • Answer Keys Included
• Cost of Life Simulation Activity
  • Student simulation and tracking sheets (PDF)
  • 18 Medical Cards + 18 Life Cards
  • Printable cards (PDF) or interactive PowerPoint cards for paperless play
  • Detailed teacher instructions and guide
  • Video walkthrough demonstrating how to run the simulation

Perfect for: Health Science, Health Education, Personal Finance and lessons covering healthcare economics or health insurance. 

This is designed to be a complete, ready-to-use health insurance lesson sequence. From introducing the cost of healthcare to giving students an opportunity to make insurance decisions and experience how those decisions can affect their finances.