WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services has made available an online tool from its Healthcare.gov Web site that streamlines the public's search for insurance coverage options.

Healthcare.gov offers consumers a one-stop-shop of public and private insurance coverage options and, when they are created, a gateway to state health insurance exchange portals. Based on answers to a series of questions, the finder produces a menu of potential coverage choices personalized for the user.

The Insurance Finder "widget" also lets anyone with a website or blog to embed a tool on their site that allows users to begin searching for coverage options, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in an announcement Aug. 24.

The tool asks users two initial questions: "select a state" and "which best describes you." Users then click on "next steps," and are redirected to a page on HealthCare.gov that continues with the insurance finder process based on answers to their specific questions.

"Simply put, this new online tool puts the power of information at your fingertips," Sebelius said.

Healthcare.gov is the first central database of health coverage options, combining information about public programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as plans from private insurance carriers for small employers and individuals.