Are you in need of a low cost health insurance plan, but don’t know how to go about finding one? Don’t feel bad or silly because there are a lot of people in that position. Honestly, health insurance options are not as inexpensive as they once were and prices have gotten much higher over the past 15-20 years. There are a few very simple things that you might be able to do to lower your health insurance costs. Let’s take a look at three of these options.
#1. Try to get Group Health coverage through your employer - If this is available it’s almost always your best option. The reason for that is because your boss is paying for part of your costs and also that there’s buying power in numbers. The more people buying then the more coverage you’ll get for less. Take advantage of it if it’s available, because no matter what I can almost guarantee that you’ll pay more by buying it privately.
#2. Consider reducing your coverage amounts - This is nerve wracking, with good reason. This means that you would actually sit down with an agent and slice and dice your policy coverage until it was more affordable. I honestly don’t recommend doing this, but it is an option. Keep in mind that there’s only so much you can reduce.
#3. Raise your deductible substantially - Other than #1, I recommend this as my second choice. You see, no matter whether you have health insurance or not you can almost always plan on spending something out of your own pocket. This can be an annual deductible, co-payment, prescriptions, etc. What you’re doing by raising the deductible is basically saying to yourself “I can handle the basic doctor visits and prescription costs in exchange for having a policy and being covered for major emergencies”. That’s not a bad trade off. Also, your premiums will be much lower. This will make those out of pocket costs more affordable.
Bottom line - If you’re in need of a low cost health insurance plan then grab a few free health insurance quotes, do some comparisons of the coverage provided and prepare to get the ball rolling by speaking to an agent. Don’t put it off any longer!
Sound health is an indispensable feature of every individual’s life. No targets and success can be achieved if we are physically unwell. In order to safeguard this central aspect of our life, health insurance is the need of the hour.
Health insurance as we all know is the best way to secure your health against all expected and unexpected problems. Due to this almost every individual seeks to acquire a health insurance policy.
At present there are many companies offering health insurance. While going for a health insurance policy you will confront a choice between private and government insurance. Prior to opting for either policy, you should know that with a private health insurance you would have an access to luxurious private hospitals, wide range of private doctors to choose from and mostly immediate treatment. While in a government health insurance scheme the lifetime health cover penalizes people who take out health insurance later in life with higher premiums. If you take the policy after your 31st birthday you will be required to pay a 2% surcharge annually up to 70%. So for instance if you acquire the policy at the age of 50 you will have to pay 30% more than a person who joined at the age of 30.
Government health insurance policy also comes up with a Medicare levy surcharge according to which unmarried people earning more than $50k and married couples with or without children earning more than $100k will pay an extra 1% Medicare surcharge in addition to 1.5% Medicare levy most people pay. But this extra annual expenditure of $500 to $1000 can be avoided by opting for hospital insurance.
Premium plays a key role in choosing the kind of policy you want. Money can be saved on premium in various ways such as purchasing a policy with ‘excess’ or the money that an individual is required to pay for stay in a hospital before benefits are payable. You can also buy a policy that asks for a co-payment. In case of co-payment if you don’t go into hospital, the member decides to pay usually a fixed amount of money each time he avails the service. Choosing a policy that doesn’t include several treatment facilities is also an option to lower your premium rates. Besides this you can also buy a policy that only covers you as a private patient in a public hospital. However it is better and in the long run beneficial to take a policy that offers a high ‘excess’ in comparison to those that exclude several treatment conditions. Some commonly barred treatments are- cosmetic surgery, cataract surgery, rehabilitation, hip, knee and other joint replacements, obstetrics and birth related care, assisted reproduction and psychiatric care. In case you want coverage for any of these treatments, prior to purchasing make sure your policy includes it.
Finding an affordable health insurance policy can be a tricky thing these days. For one thing, what’s “affordable” for one person or family, may be completely out of reach for another. Also, there are many different factors to weigh when you’re looking for health insurance coverage. Let’s take a look at a few of these factors.
#1. Price - this is pretty much a no-brainer. You can either afford the policy or not. The best thing that you can do is to get several health insurance quotes. Set up a new email address specifically for this reason so you don’t get hammered in your primary email box and then simply sort through the quotes. You can do these anonymously with a fake phone number until you get a couple dozen (at least) that are in your price range. After doing this, contact them again directly and start asking specific questions about policy coverage.
#2. What does the policy cover? - Not all health insurance policies are created equal. As a matter of fact, some policies may not measure up to your needs at all. I watched an interview of Michael Moore, the director of the new movie “Sicko”, on “Larry King Live” recently and this topic was discussed in depth. You need to make certain that you have at least a minimum amount of coverage for lengthy hospitalization, ambulance and much, much more. You need to get a copy of what each policy actually covers and compare them against each other, while factoring in what coverage you’re getting for the price.
Finding affordable health insurance is no different than shopping for any other consumer product. You’ll want to know what it covers, how much it covers, what it does NOT cover (exclusions), what are the limitations of the policy and how much does it cost? There are, of course, other factors to look at, but this should give you some general guidelines in your search to find affordable health insurance.
The cost of health care has increased substantially over the past decade, so it should be no surprise that the cost of private medical insurance has followed suit. With premiums up from around annually to 18 according to Data Monitor, it is becoming harder for many people to afford private medical insurance at all.
There are ways to cut costs and still get quality cover and quality medical care, though. Here are a few suggestions for getting quality health insurance for you and your family on a budget.
Downgrade from comprehensive cover
If you’ve been paying for comprehensive PMI, you may reduce your costs by downgrading to a budget plan. There are a number of budget plan types available. One of the most common methods of reducing costs on PMI is to exclude cover for some types of treatments. Those treatments may include tests, complementary health care and psychiatric care. Exclusions are one way to cut costs t if you end up needing tests, scans or physical therapy, or any other type of treatment not covered, you could wind up paying far more out of your pocket than you would have paid for the extra cover.
Agree to a higher excess
Another popular way to lower premiums is to opt for a higher excess. You can lower your premiums by well over 50% if you choose to accept a high excess. If you do choose to take on a higher excess payment, be sure to check how the excess is charged. A per claim excess can wind up being far more expensive than a full cover excess.
Share the responsibility
A third way to cut the cost of your premiums is to share the cost of your medical expenses with your insurance provider. Rather than paying a fixed excess cost, you agree to pay a percentage of your treatment cost up to a predetermined cap.
Pay for your own treatment
A new class of payment type for private health care costs is to pay for your own expenses without insurance. There are private hospitals that offer fixed rate operations to allow you to shop around and budget for an operation rather than wait for your turn on the NHS.
Private treatment at NHS facilities
If you opt to pay your own medical expenses, one option to look into is using private facilities at NHS hospitals. The cost may be cheaper than the same treatment at a private hospital.
Employer based PMI
Check to find out if your employer offers PMI as a company benefit. Group rates for private health insurance are considerably cheaper than individual, so even if your employer requires you to make a contribution, it’s likely to save you a good amount of money on your health insurance policy.
Depending on the policy and the company, you may also be able to get cover for your spouse and children. In some of the larger companies, you may even be able to get cover if you have a pre-existing condition.
Shop around for the best deal
Comparison shopping will always get you the best deal, so do shop around and compare premiums. Ask for quotes from several insurance companies but be sure to know before hand what type and level of cover you want so you can compare like with like.
