A LOT. I have looked into private health insurance. There are a million ways to work health insurance, but I'll give you some basics:

1) Company Health Care. This is when you work for a company and they have X employees. You can also choose to own the company and then write off part of the health-care premiums for employees (you). The beauty of this is that nothing can be considered pre-existing past a waiting period (usually one year). So if one of you has ever had a heart condition, has diabetes, or are basically on ANY meds....those things related will not be covered for the waiting period which like I said, is generally a year. The monthly premiums are HIGH, but any pre-existing conditions would usually be covered. Trust me when I tell you EVERYTHING is considered pre-existing. You should thoroughly check into this option as I think it's your best bet.

2) Private/Family health care. This is very expensive as well, but the limitations are ridiculous and they can deny just about anything for any legnth of time especially if they deem it pre-existing. There are many different laws governing this type of health care and you are sort of on your own, rather than being under the company umbrella.

With both options, there's a financial "point" so to speak. The point I'm trying to make is that if you want the best coverage and the most pay-out on each claim, you pay a LOT of money in monthly premiums. I'd expect for people of your age to pay nearly $1000/month. So you're guaranteed to pay $12,000/yr plus any deductibles (individual, family, or both) and co-pays. Most policies pay anywhere from 60%-90% of in-network claims (meaning you use a Dr they have a relationship with). However, say you get a smaller premiumed policy, like $500 a month, you will have higher deductibles, they will pay a smaller percentage per claim, etc. This doesn't SOUND smart, but you factor you're paying a guaranteed amount of $6,000/yr plus part of your claims are you really going to end up paying another $6,000? It's all on how often you go to the Dr and if you're on regular medication etc. Do the math many, many times over to see what your best financial option is regarding premiums, deductibles, and co-pay's.

3) Catastrophic coverage. There are always policies that cover almost nothing but catastrophic issues and at the minimum, this is important. I know many people choose to go this route because of heart attack, car wreck, etc. They may only pay a few hundred a month for their family then go to the Dr and pay out-of-pocket. This is a good way for many people to operate but considering your age I think it would not be best for you. Still, I thought it was worth mentioning.

Our health care system is nothing (and I do mean NOTHING) like someone who is coming from National/Gvt health care and the in's and out's are tricky. Ask LOTS of questions and read all the fine print.

Good Luck on whatever you decide. There are companies who broker health insurance and there are many websites out there, just google. Beware, some are not reputable and it's important to do your homework!