California Health Insurance
Believe it or not where you live can have an effect upon your ability to get
health
insurance in certain circumstances and one state in particular leads
the way when it comes to protecting its residents.
It’s expensive to live in California, and the cost of health insurance here in
the Golden State is beyond the reach of many Californians. In fact, fully 16%
of all California residents can’t afford any health coverage at all. It
doesn’t have to be this way. Did you know that there’s a secret way for you to
save as much as 30 to 40% on the cost of your health policy each and every
month – and it’s so simple you won’t believe your eyes?
But before I reveal
the Big Secret, let’s discuss a few simple changes you can make that will save
you even MORE every month.
You should always set up an auto-pay plan for making your premium payment.
It costs more than you probably think to prepare and mail a bill to you every
month, so if you pay your premium directly from your bank account your company
will gladly reward you by cutting the cost of your premium.
Most health policies come with a standard 25% co-payment whenever you visit
your doctor. If you only see your doctor a few times each year you can usually
save a great deal by simply increasing your co-pay to 50%.
Obviously if you want the best price for your health coverage here in
California you already know that you can’t smoke and you can’t use chew. The
reasons are obvious and the solution is just as obvious – although quitting
tobacco products is not easy for most people. Did you know that it’s costing you a LOT more than you think every time you
stop at your local fast food joint and have a burger and fries? The cost of
that high-fat, high-calorie, cholesterol-saturated meal goes far beyond the
price listed on the wall.
If you have a weight problem part of it can be solved simply by cutting out
all fast food burgers and fries – and your weight is a big part of the price
you pay each and every month for your health premium. Increasing your deductible will definitely lower your monthly premium cost.
Just don’t go overboard and increase your deductible past the point that you
can comfortably afford to pay it every year. So what is the Big Secret that will let you save so much money on your
California health insurance? The answer has been staring you right in the
face.
Buy your policy online. Yes – it really is that easy to save 30 to 40% off
the top on the price of your monthly insurance premium. Online brokers have
little or no overhead so they are able to make incredible deals on the cost of
health coverage and still show a profit. Also, there is a tremendous amount of competition online and competition
means that prices are cut as low as possible. The result? YOU WIN!
There’s one more advantage to buying your policy from the comfort of your
own home. There’s no agent looking over your shoulder and talking you into
buying more than you need and certainly more than you can afford. When you buy
your coverage online not only do you save a bundle, but YOU are in complete
control of the entire process.
So please, if the cost of your California health insurance is making you
sick go online and check out the savings for yourself. See if you can’t keep a
lot more of that California gold in your pocket rather than lining the coffers
of your insurance company.
Interesting Ways To Lower Your Cost
There are many interesting ways anyone can lower their California health
insurance cost. This article will point you to a good number of them. You’ll
do well to go through them and do your best to implement them…
Flexible
Spending Account.
There’s
a special kind of savings account known as the Flexible Spending Account. You
can put away tax-free dollars to cater for your health needs. You can in
addition roll over any amount you didn’t use in one year to the subsequent
year tax-free. You can build a large reserve of money for your health need
tax-free if you open a Flexible Spending Account.
Preferred Provider Organization
Also note that you’ll spend less on it by using a PPO or Preferred
Provider Organization. It costs more than an HMO and also gives you more
options. It’s up to you to contrast the benefits you will get with what you’ll save
to choose whether it will serve you better than regular health insurance. If
saving is more important to you than more choices then join a PPO.
Settling for catastrophic coverage
Settling for catastrophic coverage will help you save substantially in
health insurance and is recommended if you are the consistently healthy type.
This type of policy covers you if you suddenly fall ill or get involved in an
accident. The biggest advantage of this policy is where sudden diseases or accidents
result in huge bills that could at best be called catastrophic. The name
really does give an idea of what it protects against. They are sold at very
inexpensive rates.
However, take note that it has deductibles that are as high as $2,000.
Notwithstanding, you’ll be glad to contribute that little if your medical
bills total as high as $50,000 which is where this policy truly excels.
Attract higher rates
It is now clearly known that smoking will attract higher rates. What
people might not appreciate is that the same also applies if you use any other
type of tobacco product. Chewing or snuffing tobacco, for example will cost
you in higher rate. So, you will help yourself get less expensive rates if you avoid tobacco
use in any form.
Compare
If you’re married you could reduce your health insurance cost by being on
one policy. You have to compare though to ascertain which gets you more
savings. This is because depending on your profiles and health needs, you may be
better off buying two different plans.
Comparison shopping
Comparison shopping could allow you save thousands on your California
health insurance policy. Therefore, get and compare quotes from many different
insurers. In one case study of a profile, the quotes site used returned many quotes
as usual. The interesting thing, however, was that the difference between the
highest and lowest quote was over $2,000.