If you’re looking for low cost individual health insurance, let me fill you in on how to get it. Unfortunately, I won’t be giving you a magic bullet. I can’t say there’s one company out there or an offer for cheap medical insurance, it’s just not out there. Well, it is an it isn’t. I’ll explain what I mean.
Insurance companies are changing their pricing all the time. Risk considerations, business needs, and other factors are changing all the time. So the company with the lowest price is also changing frequently. That’s why you need to compare companies using a trusted 3rd party comparison site. When you can compare apples-t0-apples plans side to side, you can clearly see who’s offering the lowest premiums.
Click Here To Compare And Find The Lowest Cost Health Insurance
Beyond comparing, there are other things you can do to cut down on the cost of health insurance. First off, I usually say that using the insurance companies to pay for your regularly incurred expenses will drive up the cost of your monthly premium. In order to determine whether or not this will save you money, you need to calculate how much money you are currently spending on medical expenses.
If you’re currently spending nothing (like me, for example – I haven’t spent anything on medical expenses in 4-5 years), then you’re not going to benefit from a plan that covers routine expenses through low co-pays and low deductibles. If you do spend a lot on regular doctor visits, prescription medications, and specialist visits, then you need to consider if the increased cost of your premium is going to be a better investment then paying for it “a-la-carte”.
For example, if you currently spend $2000 a year on medical expenses, with no health insurance, and you decide to go for a plan with a deductible of 0$, so that all of your expenses are covered, how much more do you want to spend to cover the emergencies? Because if your premiums are $200 a month ($2400/year), you’ll only spend $400 a year to cover scenarios that you don’t know are going to happen. I’d say that’s not a bad deal, but it’s ultimately up to you. And your scenario probably will not play out with these exact numbers so you will need to do the math.
If you just want the lowest premium possible, then your best bet is to balance your risk and see what deductible you may be able to cover in an emergency only. Take out all of the “bells and whistles” from the plan, like psychiatric care (if you’re not going to use it), maternity coverage (again, if you’re not going to use it), or prescription drugs (if you generally don’t go for them). Then raise the deductible as high as you can go. The place where I say not to compromise much is the “co-insurance”, because that’s the factor that could end up costing you a lot of money if you have an emergency. Most plans will cover you up to 2 million dollars or something like that. But if you have a 30% co-insurance, how good is that 2 million dollar coverage?
Overall, you need to look carefully at the available health insurance plans and their respective coverages and pick what’s best for your individual situation – there is no one “low cost individual health insurance” solution out there. You just have to be smart and compare.
Click Here To Compare The Best Rates In The Industry
So if you make a low income and you’re struggling to find a health insurance plan, don’t despair. You just need to get a plan that’s cheap and will take care of most of your needs. On this site, I talk a lot about how to craft a cheap health insurance plan so I would recommend reading those posts as well this one. If you’re ready to look at quotes…
Click Here To Look At Low Income Medical Insurance Quotes
So, what are you options?
HDHP – High deductible health plan. Basically, you’re deductible is an amount that you would need to pay on a yearly basis before any of your other, non-doctor visit, expenses are covered by your insurance company. If you make this deductible higher than say, $5000, you have a good chance of lowering your monthly bill and also grabbing some coverage for doctor visits, prescription drugs, and other costs.
Another “so-called benefit” of an HDHP is you can use an HSA (Health Savings Account). It works like a “traditional IRA” (Individual retirement account) where your contributions are tax-deductible and you can gain interest tax-free. BUT, keep in mind the caveats:
1) You can only withdraw the money penalty-free for health expenses. If you take it out for other reasons, there’s a penalty. And also, remember, you’re going to get taxed when you take the money out after your are 60 years old (and there’s no way to know what tax rates will be then or what bracket you will be in).
2) In 2010, Your deductible must be over $1200 for a single person and $2400 for a family.
3) You must find a plan that takes HSAs. This will limit your choices when buying individual health insurance.
I like HSAs for people who are thinking of saving some money and they think they may need to use some of that money on medical expenses (and could use a tax break). It’s not the best option for pure investment, nor is it the best option for those who don’t want to tie up any of their funds. **Keep in mind that some people say you can save some money on administrative costs by having an HSA debit card. I don’t know if this is true and not sure if I buy it. But you may want to look into it.
If you’re on a very low income, a “mini medical” plan might be right for you. You can get coverage for drugs, doctor visits, and some hospital stays but you will not get a lot of coverage for big emergencies. In my opinion, it’s more important to have the coverage for the emergencies, because this is when the hospital may just ignore you – as opposed to you trying to pay for a regularly scheduled doctor visit, where they will take a check and don’t generally even WANT to accept insurance.
Overall, I would say to check out my “Cheap Medical Insurance” post for how to craft the cheapest policy using the mentality of going to the doctor for emergencies. If you’re really poor, can you afford to be seeing these professionals all that much? In my opinion, the best thing to do is eat well, exercise, and take MUCH CHEAPER preventative measures to keep yourself out of the doctor’s office. Because when it comes to Western Medicine, it’s expensive and there’s just no free lunch out there. At least not yet. Until then, get the cheapest possible.
Click Here To Compare The Cheapest Plans Out There
I hope this information was helpful and you were able to find some insurance solutions that may help you and your family.
Tips To Find The Best Health Insurance Policy For Those With Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
People wіth pre-existing medical conditions (such аѕ Heart Disease, diabetes etc) usually find іt very difficult tο find a health insurance policy. Hοwеνеr, уου still hаνе many options tο consider аnԁ іf уου try іn thе rіɡht direction, іt іѕ nοt going tο bе very difficult tο find thе rіɡht policy fοr уου. Following іѕ a brief rundown οn hοw tο ɡο аbουt іt.
Stay Away Frοm FаƖѕе Assumptions
Thе first thing thаt уου hаνе tο ԁο іѕ tο ѕtοр mаkіnɡ fаƖѕе assumptions. Thе reason whу mοѕt people wіth pre-existing conditions аrе never аbƖе tο ɡеt ɡοοԁ insurance coverage іѕ thе very fact thаt thеу simply assume nο company wіƖƖ bе ready tο offer thеm a policy bесаυѕе οf thеіr specific conditions. Thіѕ іѕ nοt trυе. Thе insurance market іѕ a hυɡе one аnԁ thеrе іѕ very tough competition between various companies. Therefore, even іf уου аrе suffering frοm a specific disease, уου саn still find a company whο wіƖƖ offer уου a health insurance policy tο cater tο уουr specific needs аnԁ requirement. In order tο ɡеt аn іԁеа аbουt whеrе exactly уου stand, уου mау Ɩіkе tο talk tο a broker οr аn insurance agent. Alternatively, уου саn simply visit thе official websites οf a few companies аnԁ submit аn online application form requesting a free quote frοm each οf thеm. Yου саn ԁο thіѕ rіɡht frοm thе comfort аnԁ convenience οf уουr home, thаt tοο, without spending a dime.
Gеt A Nеw Job – Find A Large Employer
Finding a nеw job wіth a bіɡɡеr company іѕ another option thаt option thаt уου mау Ɩіkе tο consider. Thе best thing аbουt a large employer іѕ thаt thеу саn directly provide уου a health insurance policy without requiring уου tο ԁο anything. If thе employer іѕ large enough, іt саn bе done without even having tο ɡο through thе process οf underwriting. Sіnсе thеrе іѕ nο underwriting process, іt simply means thаt уου саn еnјοу thе coverage even іf уου already hаνе сеrtаіn medical conditions. Thе fact thаt уου аrе suffering frοm сеrtаіn diseases іѕ nοt a point οf consideration here. Nobody іѕ going tο аѕk qυеѕtіοn frοm уου regarding thаt.
In thе Unites States οf America, thе state insurance departments offer special plans fοr those whο аrе unable tο find аn insurance policy οn thеіr οwn bесаυѕе οf one οr another reason. Sο, іt wіƖƖ bе a nice іԁеа tο contact thе concerned state authorities аnԁ find out іf thеrе іѕ аnу рƖаn thаt уου саn qualify fοr. Hοwеνеr, іt іѕ very іmрοrtаnt fοr уου tο keep іn mind thаt thіѕ kind οf special state approved health insurance policy іѕ usually much more expensive thаn mοѕt οf thе οthеr options thаt mіɡht bе available tο уου. Hοwеνеr, іt саn bе аn easy last option. In order tο qualify fοr thеѕе special plans, уου mау bе аѕkеԁ tο prove уουr applications hаνе already bееn rejected elsewhere.
If you’re a student, there’s good news when it comes to health insurance – it’s most likely going to be the cheapest for you.
This post is to give you a couple of pointers to get the best deal. But if you’re ready to shop around…
Click Here To Get The Cheapest Student Health Insurance
OK, so the good news:
1) If you’re a student, you’re probably in the 18-24 years old category. That’s going to give you a BIG break on insurance costs because your risk for serious health issues is significantly lower than older people.
2) A lot of companies will give you a nice discount (maybe even 20-30%) for being a student. One tip on this… if you’re not a student, don’t lie to get a discount – this is insurance fraud.
The best way to get the cheapest coverage is to get free care from your university or see about group healthcare options available through your college or community. If these are not an option – for example, you go to community college or your uni/community just doesn’t offer it, you’ll need an individual insurance plan.
To get the cheapest option, you’ll want to eliminate the “bells and whistles” of insurance to make your monthly premium as low as possible. For example, if you do not need psych counseling 20 times a year, don’t pay for it in your policy – get my drift?
Also, I always recommend getting insurance just for emergencies and not routine procedures. Also, check with your student health office and you will probably find that they do a lot of these regular check ups for free or low cost. Many times all you need is a supplement insurance policy incase something drastic happens and they don’t cover it.
Click Here To Compare The Most Affordable Insurance Policies
If this is the case, compare policies across the board and pick the cheapest one. In my opinion, the only thing you need to decide on is how high of a deductible you can afford and high of a coinsurance you’re willing to risk.
For example, if you generally do not have access to more than $1-2K, don’t get a deductible of $10,000. That’s fairly illogical incase a real accident happens. I also recommend going for a 0% co-insurance. If you need a $100,000 operation, the last thing you want is to add another year of college tuition to your debt profile.
OK, review:
1) For routine services, find out where you can get free appointments. This should work fine in most scenarios.
2) Choose an “emergency-based” policy. That means high copays, not a lot of drug coverage, and not a lot of alternative or supplemental coverage, etc.
3) It might be worth spending a little extra for a middle or low-range deductible and a low co-insurance. But you need to taylor that to your specific budget/needs.
4) Compare prices on apples-to-apples policies on a reputable site known for getting low prices. I recommend using ehealthinsurance. I have found that they gather the most amount of policies and lowest prices, especially for students. You probably won’t need to go anywhere else after them, which makes buying individual health insurance much easier.
Click Here To Look At The Best Student Health Insurance Options
Don’t forget that the people that ultimately get the lowest rates are the ones who keep themselves in good health and do not make a lot of claims. So don’t forget to eat healthy and exercise! And with the formula above, it shouldn’t break your bank to get a decent health insurance policy. I hope this information was helpful, good luck with your shopping!
