How
to Find Affordable Health Insurance
by: Dr.
Deepak Dutta Affordable health insurance
- it seems, especially today, those words just
don't belong together in the same sentence. Health
insurance monthly premiums have become the biggest
single expense in our lives - surpassing even
mortgage payments. In fact, if you have any permanent
health problems, such as diabetes, or have had
cancer at one time in your family history, your
monthly cost could easily be more than the house
and car payment combined.
Shopping for affordable health insurance can
certainly be an eye-opener. If you have always
had a health insurance benefit where you work
- especially a state or federal employee - and
now have to buy your own, you may not be able
to afford the level of health insurance coverage
you have become used to.
Affordable health insurance, however, is definitely
available -if you know how and where to look.
When you are looking for affordable health insurance,
you want the lowest cost per year that will fit
your budget, of course. But, even more importantly,
you want a company that has a good record for
paying without fighting with you on every detail.
Just as there is a car for just about any budget,
there is also affordable health insurance. You
may not be able to afford a "Cadillac"
policy - but then you probably don't need all
the frills anyway.
Shopping for health insurance on the internet
is the easiest and best way to find affordable
health insurance. Here are five reasons why.
1. You don't need a local agent to help you submit
the claims for health insurance. The medical provider
does it for you. You save money because the health
insurance company saves money by not paying the
agent commission. This could amount to an 8% to
12% savings to you.
2. All the top health insurance companies are
at your fingertips on the internet. Most local
agents can only quote you from the few companies
that they represent. They may not offer you what
is best for you financially or health-wise but
only what they happen to have available.
3. Health insurance companies have to be extremely
competitive because it is so quick and easy to
compare them with their competitors on the internet
today. In the past you would have had to visit
physically eight to ten agents to do a similar
comparison. Most folks just didn't have the time
or desire for that.
4. You can change your coverage, deductibles,
and payment options with just a few clicks rather
than going through the paperwork delay with a
local agent (and then finding out he/she made
a mistake - more delay).
5. Charging to a credit card means you aren't
going to forget a payment and be without insurance.
Also, it gives you another 30 days before you
actually have to pay. Also, many companies today
give an additional discount for "auto-pay".
The key, however, to finding affordable health
insurance is realizing that the purpose of any
health insurance is to protect you from a major
financial loss - not to protect you from spending
small money on clinic visits and sliver removal.
These small expenses may be cumbersome but they
generally will not hurt you. It's the $100,000
heart operation that will break you. That's the
financial disaster health insurance was originally
designed to prevent.
Also, keep this in mind. Health insurance, as
with any insurance, is a gamble. You are gambling
that you will draw out more than you pay in. Your
health insurance company is gambling they will
pay out less. The odds are in their favor for
two reasons. They have all the facts for millions
of families to average out, so they know the risk
in advance. Also, they get to set the rules and
the prices. The higher you set your deductible,
the more risk you take. This is not a bad thing
at all. You will most likely be the winner in
the long run.
Yes, finding affordable health insurance is much
easier than most people think.
Taking more of the risk with higher deductibles,
spending a little time on the internet comparing
eight to ten different companies, and deleting
coverage that you will not likely need (such as
maternity for many folks) will make it very possible
to find your own affordable health insurance.
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