These days many people are wondering where to go to find low cost health care. One of the benefits of our improving medical science is that we live longer. Of course financially that is a problem because it costs us more to live, and a disproportionately large amount of health care expenses are spent during that last few years of life, but the cost by hospitals and health care institutions, and insurance companies is spread around with everyone making health care costs rise, and making insurance or some form of managed healthcare plan a wise option to seek.
When looking first check with your employer. Many companies offer health insurance as a benefit to employees. If your employer offers a plan check it out. If you are self employed, do you belong to an association of some sort that might offer a group plan? Many times self employed people can join groups that exist to put together the buying power of many people into one organization and get better rates. This is true for other forms of insurance as well. Some clubs offer car insurance discounts for example. Also, are you a veteran? Or is your spouse? If you are a veteran of the armed forces you may qualify for medical benefits from the Veterans Administration. If you do, use it, you earned it.
If your employer doesn’t offer health care and you don’t belong to an association you may need to find a plan on your own. Start your search by giving thought to friends and relatives who may have had similar situations. Ask a few of them how they solved the problem and they may have recommendations for you. Take advantage of their experience and see what worked best for them, since it may be a good insurance and healthcare method for you as well.
Then expand your horizons by checking with local insurance agents. See what type of plans they have available and what they will cost. Sometimes insurance companies have plans called catastrophic coverage plans that have a very high deductible, perhaps as high as $5,000, but have a low premium for you to pay. Many people use these plans in combination with medical savings accounts. They are essentially self insured for the first $5,000 in medical expenses but covered for anything larger. Then they put tax free money into a savings account every month and use that to cover standard medical expenses.
Another option is joining an HMO. An HMO is a health maintenance organization. With an HMO you will see the doctors and healthcare providers who are members of that group only. This is managed care and is popular for many employer benefit plans. HMO’s have lower rates than traditional health care plans and are worth looking at. The important thing about health care coverage is making sure that you have adequate coverage that you can afford. All the insurance doesn’t do you any good at all if you can’t pay the premium, so check out the options.