Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Health/Wellness. A major personal cost depending on your stage in life and circumstance is healthcare. Most people don’t understand their premiums and how to manage the costs but it can be done. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Make Health Insurance More Affordable.
* * *
Getting insured is the best way to afford healthcare – but what if you can’t afford health insurance? While rates can be expensive, there are a number of cheaper insurance options out there. Here are just several ways in which you can lower the cost of health insurance.
Check if you’re eligible for Medicare or Medicaid
There are federal and state programs in place across America that could help to pay for some or all of your health insurance. These are only eligible to certain people however.
Medicare is eligible for those over 65 and those with disabilities – while you must still pay a contribution, this program could allow most of your insurance to be paid for you. There are a number of different plans out there ranging from Medicare Plan A to Medicare Plan G. These each offer a different level of coverage.
Medicaid is meanwhile eligible to those with a low income, pregnant women and people with certain disabilities – participants pay little to nothing for coverage providing they meet requirements. This is largely state funded, unlike Medicare, so can vary a little from state to state.
Talk to your employer
Many employers offer health insurance to employees as a company benefit, often making contributions to help lower the cost. If your employer does not offer this, you could try talking to them about the possibility of setting up a scheme. Even if they contribute only a tiny amount to it, it will still save you some money and it has tax benefits for your employer.
Join organizations with health insurance perks
Aside from working for a company that offers health insurance, you may also be able to gain access to cheap health insurance by becoming a member of certain organizations. This includes state farm bureaus, university alumni associations and automotive clubs such as the AAA.
Raise your deductible and use a HSA
A high deductible plan can also save you money. The deductible is the amount of money you’re willing to pay out of your own pocket before asking an insurer for help in the event that you need to pay for healthcare. It could mean that you still end up paying for most minor healthcare, but you’ll still get some assistance if you need major treatment such as surgery.
A HSA (Health Savings Account) could help you to pay your deductible. This is a savings account in which your earnings are contributed on a regular basis. The main benefit of such accounts is that you don’t have to pay tax on any earnings that are put in these savings accounts.
Start living more healthily
Health insurers tend to ask a number of questions about applicants’ lifestyle in order to get an idea of how healthy you are. If you smoke, drink heavily and do little exercise, you could find that your rates are higher – this is because there’s a greater risk you’ll need to claim insurance for healthcare.
While you can lie about your lifestyle to gain access to cheaper rates, this could backfire if you’re found out. Start living more healthily so that you can honestly take advantage of cheap insurance – less health problems could also mean less health insurance claims in the future, which means cheaper future rates.
