Lowering Your Medical Insurance Cost

Mar 24
09:08

2008

Craig Thornburrow

Craig Thornburrow

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The cost of medical insurance has gone through the roof. Everyone talks about getting the cost under control but the truth is you can take some steps on your own to lower your insurance cost.

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Having medical insurance that you can afford is becoming more and more of a challenge for the average family. The cost of health care is going through roof and not having some sort of insurance policy is becoming a very high risk. One hospitalization for you or a family member can literally mean the collapse of your financial stability and literally deplete any savings you have been able to put away.

You are constantly hearing politicians stating that you are going to make medical insurance affordable for everyone. That is a great bumper sticker or campaign slogan but the reality is there will be committees formed and do nothing except waste time. The truth of the matter is that having insurance for medical reasons is going to remain high but there are some things that you can do to try and reduce your own policies.

Tips for Lowering Your Insurance Cost

First if you are a smoker –stop. This will save you 25% off of your premiums. Now the insurance company does not just take your word for it that you have quit smoking. It oftentimes takes up to one year to prove you have been smoke free. You will be required to submit a urine sample and have it tested to prove there is no nicotine in your system. The rate in which you become nicotine free is determined by many factors including height and weight but the average time is one year. Once you can prove to the insurance company's satisfaction your rates will be lowered to the non smoker's rate.

Another thing you should do is really evaluate your current policy and make sure that there is no coverage on there that you don't need. One to really look for is maternity coverage,Lowering Your Medical Insurance Cost Articles if you are no longer able to have children for any reason get rid of the coverage, it is very expensive. Really make sure that your policy reflects what you feel is important coverage.

Audit your medical history for the previous few years and see if your deductible is correct for your situation. What this means is if you have a low deductible such as $500 and you have never reached that amount you may want to contact your insurance company and see if raising your deductable will help you in premium cost. Be careful however not to cut yourself short either, this means if you don't save enough in premiums savings to cover the difference between the deductibles don't raise because if you happen to get really ill you can put yourself in a bad financial situation and now the savings is no longer worth it.

If you are younger and relatively healthy you should consider changing over to a health savings account. These accounts give you high deductable but much lower premiums. You then are able to take tax free money and put it into your HSA which earns a respectable amount of interest. You then use this money for any health related cost, this can include dental and eye doctors or even cold medicine. This is a very viable medical insurance option that you should consider.