Affordable Health Insurance - Does it really exist?

With individual health insurance costs constantly on the rise, finding quality, low cost health insurance can be quite difficult. In most cases, however, there are a few simple steps that can be taken to reduce your health insurance premiums. This article will explain a few of them.

1. Use a PPO Network

It is natural for consumers to want the freedom to visit any doctor they choose, but it's not always practical. Health insurance programs with PPO networks are usually much more affordable. Today's PPO networks are quite comprehensive -- it's usually not a problem to find a network that has all of the doctors, hospitals, and specialists that you use as network providers. The health insurance companies have negotiated better prices with the providers in their networks, and they pass the savings on to you.

2. Don't Be Afraid of Higher Deductibles

One of the easiest ways to reduce health insurance premiums is by selecting a higher deductible. For anyone unfamiliar with this term, your deductible is the amount of medical expenses that you pay before your health insurance begins to pay. This deductible functions independently of any copays on your policy, so having a higher one won't effect the most frequently used benefits of health insurance such as office visit or prescription drug copays.

There is a very simple way to calculate whether the savings provided by a higher deductible are worth the risk of higher out-of-pocket expenses. First, figure out the monthly difference in premiums. In this example, let's assume that by going from a $250 to a $500 deductible, you save $35 per month. Multiply that number by 12, and you'll find that the annual savings would be $420. That means that for taking on an additional risk of $250, you can save $420. If you simply set the money you save every month aside, you can easily pay for the difference in out of pocket expenses if you have an expensive illness or injury. Chances are, however, that you might not have any medical expenses above your deductible, in which case you saved $420 to put towards whatever you want!

3. Get Competing Health Insurance Quotes

Many health insurance brokers only offer one or two health insurance plans. One of the easiest ways to make sure that you find affordable health insurance is to talk to several insurance agents. Most health insurance policies have geographic areas that they are very competative in, and some where they are overpriced. Talking to several experienced agents will provide you with a complete picture of the health insurance plans available to you.

Take the first step towards finding affordable health insurance:
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