How To Get Cheap Health Insurance
Contrary to popular opinion, there are ways that you can save money on your health insurance coverage. There may never be plans that could be considered cheap, but if you know your needs, there is no problem getting low cost health insurance for yourself and your family, at least in comparison to other plans and, well, lacking health insurance altogether.
It is true that of the many Americans today that don’t have health insurance, many actually can’t afford any. However, there are also many of that number who don’t have health insurance because of misconceptions about insurance and the health care system. A lot of people don’t get health insurance because they think it costs too much, and, besides, they’re in perfect health. What they don’t realize is that some of the most expensive health care bills and some of the highest numbers in medical debt are billed to people who were otherwise in perfect health but were victims of bad luck or tragedy.
The first law of health insurance is that no matter what, it’s always more expensive to be uninsured. People who don’t have health insurance and then find themselves in something as simple as a small car accident can go through their savings, ruin their credit, and fall into huge debt. Even a minor ER visit can cost five hundred dollars.
If you can get insurance through your job, do it! It’s always cheaper, especially if you have previous medical problems that would make it hard for you to get medical insurance through anywhere else. Your employer foots part of the bill and you often get a choice of plans. And when you have a choice, compare, compare, compare. It’s frustrating and time consuming, but it’s the only way to save money and figure out what’s best for you.
Even when you find a plan that looks pretty cheap, cheap isn’t always best. The real deal breaker should be value. You don’t want simply the cheapest premium. You want the cheapest premium with the best coverage. This might be a little higher than that great quote you got, but it will save you more money down the line. Even if you do get a plan with great coverage though, remember that some expenses still fall through the gap. Things like mental health care and prescription drugs are the areas where even the best plans have little to no coverage.
As you were taught in history class, freedom ain’t free. The more flexibility that your health care plan gives you, the higher your premium will be. So it is up to you to decide what is more important to you: deciding who you go to for health care, or paying less on your premium. Less freedom of choice among health providers isn’t necessarily bad, so long as the physicians in the network are quality. And you can research a plan’s network before you sign up for it. Maybe not through the company itself, but there are a lot of sources online or off where you can find out about a certain plan’s track record.
One thing that might worry some people who are using employer based insurance is where they would be if they lost their job. Lucky for them, you don’t lose your health insurance when you lose your job. The government provides you with COBRA for a period of time after you lose your job. It can be more expensive, but it’s better than nothing and can ease a lot of minds.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Florida health insurance office of insurance regulation
Reader question:
I live in Tampa Bay and have Florida health insurance. What, I wonder, does the Florida office of insurance regulation do while my medical health insurance company is denying all of my claims and screwing me over?
Meredith
I understand your anger, Meredith.
Sometimes you’ll get insured through your Florida health insurance and will be paying several hundred dollars every month, only to find out when it comes time that you need it, that you have nothing to show for all that money that you invested into your health care. Now you’re stuck with possibly thousands of dollars in health care bills, and it seems like there is nothing that you can do about it. There are many people around the United States that find themselves in this position, which is why it should be realized that the fact that there are forty million people uninsured is a big problem, but it does not describe the problem in its entirety.
If you believe that your Florida health insurance company is doing you wrong, though, Meredith, you don’t have to sit back and let it happen to you while you feel helpless. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation can help you. Their job is, indeed, to regulate Florida health insurance and monitor medical health insurance companies to make sure that they are following state regulations, but individual situations can often fall through the cracks.
In order to bring your situation on your Florida health insurance policy to the attention of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, you have to take an active step instead of simply suspecting that they are not monitoring medical health insurance companies well enough. In order to have them look into your claims dispute, you have to file a complaint with the office to bring attention to your problem. Then they will look into it and, if you are in the right, will help you resolve it.
The Office of Insurance Regulation also helps people trying to find Florida health insurance coverage. They have a list that includes the names and information about medical health insurance companies so that you have a better idea of what your choices are.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Medical Health Insurance in New Orleans
Health care is costing more and more than ever, and many people who don’t have medical health insurance in New Orleans don’t even dare look at their medical bills when they come in the mail, because they know they can’t pay them. That’s one of the main reasons that having health insurance in New Orleans is extremely important, because then you know that the main burden of payments is lifted off of your own back. But with the health care costs being so high, it’s even harder to get cheap health insurance, in New Orleans especially since Hurricane Katrina’s effects are still being felt and the hospitals are often stressed to breaking.
Getting an HSA insurance plan is one of the best way to beat this problem. It keeps you from falling victim to huge health care bills, gives you some perks on your taxes, and costs less monthly. It comes in two parts:
- health insurance policy with a higher deductible
- tax-exempt health savings account
This innovative way of getting health insurance in New Orleans will keep you and your family from succumbing to the huge costs that could come with future disasters, whether personal or regional. With the tax-exempt savings plan, if you don’t use all of your medical health insurance provided for a year, it goes to the next year, and just keeps adding up. This helps so much when you get hit with something like a long hospital stay which can costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Then there’s the policy with the higher deducible. The way this works is that it costs you less on their monthly premium and gives you a more reasonable way to add money to your tax-exempt health savings account. This is the cheapest way of getting insurance and it’s so easy to save.
To figure out what works best for you and how you can get the cheapest health insurance in New Orleans, shop around and compare health insurance quotes. You’ll get quotes on different types, HSA included. Educate yourself on the kinds of health insurance and make your decision.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.