Helpful Tips to Buy Health Insurance in California

California is a big state and is placed at 23rd position among the 50 states of the US in the healthiest states ranking provided by the United Health Foundation.

The prevalence of smoking is low in the state and so is the rate of occupational fatalities. Infant mortality and cancer deaths are also low, which give positive signs about the state’s health system.  However, high prevalence of poverty has marred the efforts in ensuring that Californians are offered health insurance policies to make them financially secure during the event of illness or injury. Healthcare reforms will be bringing a lot of changes in the health status of the state; however, there is still time for the total implementation of those reforms.

There are lots of private insurers that provide various options for buying affordable health insurance in California. Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Assurant, Blue Shield, Celtic, Cigna, Healthnet, IAC, Kaiser Permanente, PacifiCare, and Solera Dental are some of major carriers.

Some tips to buy health insurance in California

1.    Californians can open an account with Health Savings Account (HSA), which really is a good option. These HSAs helps the consumers in reducing the premium cost while still being able to have major medical coverage. An account with HSA allows the consumers to deposit money that grows tax-free until you withdraw the funds to pay for your healthcare needs.

2.    Unlike life insurance, health insurance policies are subjected to change annually. Californians should re-evaluate their insurance policies to make sure that are having what they require. Sometimes, new options arise with better coverage, lower premiums and ease of operations—consumers should review their policies as they expire.

3.    Consumers can consider having a health insurance plan that has higher deductibles. Having a plan with high deductibles ensure that the out-of-the-pocket expense would be more but you will be saving a lot on your monthly premium. So, over a long period, the compensation will bring savings for the consumers—such types of health insurance plans are ideal for consumers having good health status.

4.    Consumers in California should not feel shy in trying to work with an insurance agent that offers health insurance policies from more than one company. This allows consumers to make better choices and also eliminate an ulterior motive of the insurance agent to sell his company’s policy whether it suits consumer’s needs or not.