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As you’re growing up in your childhood home, there are so many things that you don’t usually give much thought to. You don’t think much about how the food got into the refrigerator. You don’t think much about who’s paying for the electricity and water that you use. And if you happen to get sick or it’s time for your annual physical, you probably don’t think much about how your doctor is getting paid for your visit.

That’s because throughout your childhood and adolescence, your father and/or mother were taking care of all of these things. However, now that you are a young adult, it’s time for you to be a bit more independent. This includes handling your expenses.

So if deep down you know that it’s time to explore the option of getting your own health insurance and you’d like some information on the various choices that are available to you, here are five of them:

Insurance through your college. Although this isn’t something that all colleges and universities offer, there are several that will offer health insurance coverage to their enrolled students. The main thing to keep in mind about this particular option is that it doesn’t qualify for premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies. If you want to know if your college or university offers health insurance, contact the student administration office directly.

Insurance through your job. If you’ve recently graduated from college and you already have a full-time job lined up, there’s a pretty good chance that they will offer you some kind of life insurance option. Before you accept it, however, there is something that you should consider. If you are already on one of your parent’s insurance policies, most insurance companies will let you stay on it until you turn 26 years of age. If your parents are fine with that, there’s no need to look for insurance elsewhere.

Insurance through your parents. This next option has pretty much already been addressed, but there is something else that you should ponder before making the decision to remain on your parent’s policy. If you’re planning to live in another city or state, while the insurance will remain active, you need to research if the policy applies to the doctor, clinic, and hospital that you’re considering using. If it doesn’t, it’s going to be best to explore other alternatives.

Insurance through the health insurance marketplace. As you’re looking to compare health insurance options, another one that you should definitely consider is going through the health insurance marketplace. That is what will show you the different kinds of plans that various health insurance companies offer. For instance, if you’re young, in good health, and also on a fairly tight budget, you might want to look into the catastrophic plan. It’s the kind of policy where you are able to pay lower premiums in exchange for paying higher deductibles when it comes to your doctor’s visits or if you should need to go to the hospital.

Insurance through a temporary policy. There’s one more option that is available to you and that is a temporary policy. It is short-term coverage that you can take out in 30-364 day increments in case you have an unexpected illness or accident. For more information on temporary insurance policies, go to Golden Rule and put “what is short-term health insurance” in the search field.