A self-funded health plan is different from a full health insurance plan. In a full health insurance plan, the employer contracts the services of a health insurance company to cover the healthcare of you and your dependents. In a self-funded health plan, your employer pays for your health insurance coverage. A self-funded health plan is considered a type of job-based health insurance. All job-based insurance plans, including self-funded health plans, are regulated by federal health insurance laws. Full health insurance plans, meanwhile, are regulated by both federal and state laws. This means that self-funded health plans are limited in terms of the medical conditions that they are required to cover. Answer by admin — May 23, 2009 @ 12:01 am