Until recently when you heard the term "self funded health insurance" you could have safely assumed that you were talking about an employer sponsored group health insurance plan funded either entirely through employer/employee dollars or a combination of these with some re-insurance policies included. In self funding the employer is taking on the risk for health care expenses either in full or in part (if re-insurance is involved). Under fully insured arrangements the employer has no further financial risk after the monthly premium has been paid.
The has been a tendency lately by some in the media and in government to use the term self fund or self pay interchangeably in relation to the purchase and ownership of individual health insurance policies. By definition, even after the ACA, virtually everyone in the individual health insurance marketplace is a self payor by virtue of the monthly premium they pay but they are not self funded because they have passed off all risk after any plan deductibles, copays and co-insurance to their insurance carrier in exchange for their monthly premium.
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The has been a tendency lately by some in the media and in government to use the term self fund or self pay interchangeably in relation to the purchase and ownership of individual health insurance policies. By definition, even after the ACA, virtually everyone in the individual health insurance marketplace is a self payor by virtue of the monthly premium they pay but they are not self funded because they have passed off all risk after any plan deductibles, copays and co-insurance to their insurance carrier in exchange for their monthly premium.