Having health insurance can bring us many advantages.
Everyone realizes of how much medical care can cost us especially in emergencies and long term illnesses or sudden and unforeseen accidents which could leave us with permanent injury. Therefore, health insurance should make it possible for us to stay under medical care.

On today’s market there are many different insurance plans and it doesn’t depend on whether the employer purchase it or we will – it is of a great value to understand the benefits and limits on each policy.

There are three steps to obtain such coverage:

1. through your employer (small companies 2-50 employees; medium companies 51-99 and the large companies exceeding 100 employees)
2. individually
3. through the state – Medicare (only for those over 65 years of age) or CHIP (for those who were rejected coverage, because of they’re health)

How to choose the most suitable plan for yourself and your family:
Let’s start with asking ourselves following questions;

• What are my needs? It’s important to consider if we have kids, how often we get sick, do we take a lot of prescribed medications. The best is to prepare a list, which will include all of our needs (when completing such list, let’s be realistic – example: if we don’t have any kids we don’t need well child care)
• Are annual checkups for us and our family is of great importance to us? Is so, we should look for a plan which will cover annual checkups, mammograms and vaccinations.
• How often do I go to specialist, example: dermatologist, cardiologist, neurologist, and orthopedist? If quite often, the best plan would be PPO, which gives us better and faster access to mentioned specialists.
• What amount will I be able to spend on expenses for treatment and protection of our health? – Included are: insurance dues, deductibles, co-payment and co-insurance.
• Does insurance policy guarantee renewal? This means that the insurance company can not cancel your policy for as long as you pay your premium on time.
• What is the financial stability of the insurance company? It is important to check company’s financial rating. You can do that on internet by entering on AM Best, Moody’s Standard & Poor’s websites.
• What kind of reputation does the insurance company have? Do customers of such company complain on too complicated and too long process of a paying out dues? You can check the record of complains with Department of Insurance.
• Are there any exclusion, which would limit my benefits, whether now or the future?

How to save on health insurance:
There are two major methods;

1. Direct

• reduction of benefits (example: resignation of coverage for maternity if we know that we will not be needing it)
• change network (ex: from PHCS for Other)
• increasing your deductible

2. Indirect

• annual checkups
• caring for your health
• quitting smoking

Generally when taking care of our health the medical expenses are a lot lower and we can afford to choose a plan with a higher deductible.

• Before you will sign an application compare 3 to 4 plans from different companies.
• Advance thinking – cheaper is to purchase coverage when we’re young and healthy; at an older age and in cases of already existing illnesses – the premium could be very high, but only if an insurance company accepts you.
• Check with your employer if he doesn’t offer group coverage.
• Increase your deductible – if you visit the doctor only rarely and you’re able to afford higher deductible then $ 500 or $ 1000 in case of an emergency; the best is to think about a 100% plan with $2,500 deductible or 5,000.
• Consider which plan gives you tax credit, like for example HSA
• And the most important one, care for your health and the health of your family because the best way to lower your costs is to avoid it.

How to choose the best deductible for myself and my family:

1. Calculate annual difference between higher deductible and lower insurance premium.
2. “Guess” – (figuratively speaking) – including deductible, how much would it cost to cover illness, accident or annual checkups, considering family medical history and the risks of our job and current health.