As many of us are already aware, health insurance premiums are showing an upward trend. Fortunately, though, there are many ways in which you can save on your insurance premiums and find one that is still within your budget.
You can lower the costs of your health insurance premium without compromising on the basic needs of coverage. If you want to get a good policy that is within your budget and meets all your needs, then, you will have to be an informed buyer. Lack of sufficient knowledge might result in your buying the policy that will not offer optimum coverage and leave you in a lurch when you fall seriously ill. In this article, you will learn about five simple tips which will help you save costs on your health insurance premiums.
1. Vary the deductibles
It is important to remember that your health insurance is not for covering your normal medical expenses; it is to help you when you have a serious emergency. If you opt for higher deductibles (footing your minor medical expenses) and co-payments, the insurance premium is sure to go down. You can opt out of services you might not use and decide to pay from your pocket for the visits to your doctor to bring down costs. Premiums for a woman aged about 25 years can be brought down by 18% by varying increasing the deductible to $2.850 from $2000.
The employees and employers can opt for Health Savings Accounts coupled with plans with high deductibles in order to facilitate contribution of pre-taxed money. So, the HSA will pay out the expenses for health care as long as deductibles are met.
2. Look around for private insurance
Opting for a private insurance policy will prove to cost effective compared to the plan sponsored by the employer. The premium for a healthy person aged around 30 can be as low as $37 if you opt for private insurance, which is a whooping $250 lesser than individual coverage that an average employee pays for. However, for an individual with health concerns, the cost of private insurance plan will be five times greater than the cost of the plan offer by the company.
Looking for a private plan is not only a tough task but also time consuming because every person can opt for their requirements depending on what is specified legally by the state. Many options also depend on the physical examination of the person.
3. Family coverage options
You are your spouse need to sit and take a good look at whether one family plan will suffice or if you will need to take separate ones in order to offer optimum coverage for your children. However, if only one of you is employed then it would be a wiser choice to have company sponsored plan for one person and purchase a family plan for your children and spouse.
4. Reevaluate options offered by employers
More than one plan is offered by greater than 60% of the employers. Reevaluating your plan each year is advisable in case you are making life changing decisions like having a child or undergoing major surgery. Let us see what you will need to consider.
Health care networks
There are a network of physicians and doctors managed by health care providers. Looking through the network offered by your provider will ensure that you do not pay extra charges to choose your doctor and lab when both actually fall in your health care network list.
Range of benefits
Remember that the premiums increase as you opt for higher benefits. Hence, if you are sure you will not be using certain medical facilities like orthodontics or maternity or anything else, then, opt out of them so that your premiums can come down.
5. Stay fit as a fiddle
Lifestyle changes like giving up on vices like smoking and shedding those extra pounds not only keep you in shape but also lower your insurance premiums. Employees participating in the company wellness initiatives are offered financial initiatives by over 70% of the employers. While these companies reward their employees, there are others like Pepsi Co that charge $100 monthly surcharge on premiums for employees addicted to tobacco products.
Obtain your free health insurance quote today and understand how easy it is to get a health insurance policy.