Every year, the cost of health insurance goes up more and more. In fact, almost 17% of Floridians can't even afford health insurance at all right now.
If your workplace offers a group policy or if you belong to a group or organisation that offers its members group health insurance, you should look closely at what they have to offer. Group health insurance is almost always cheaper than individual health insurance, and it is more likely to cover someone with a pre-existing condition.
A Florida law says that if you have a home-based business and have been running it for at least six months, you may be able to get group health insurance rates even if you don't have any employees. Ask your insurance agent for more information and to find out if you qualify.
Like other states, Florida wants to make sure that all of its students have access to health care. To reach this goal, Florida has started a programme called KidCare. KidCare gives low-income families who need it health insurance at a low cost. Go to http://www.floridakidcare.org/ to find out more.
If you need health insurance for yourself or your family, there are a few things you can do to keep the cost of your monthly premiums down.
Start by giving up smoking and all other tobacco products. Health insurance costs more for people who smoke. Period. If you already have health insurance and you smoked when you got the policy but have stopped since then, tell your agent. You may be able to get a big discount on your monthly premiums.
Your health insurance will also cost more if you are overweight. Losing weight is even harder than quitting smoking, but if you can lose even a few pounds, you may drop into a lower weight category, which could save you hundreds of dollars every year.
You should be able to get a Multi-Policy Discount on your health insurance if you have more than one policy with the same insurance company, like a homeowner's policy, an auto policy, or a life insurance policy.
Ask if you can get a discount on your health insurance if you have been with the same company for at least 5 years.
Don't do sports or hobbies that are dangerous or extreme. If you put your life or health at risk for no reason, your health insurance will cost more.
How much do you have to pay when you go to the doctor? Think carefully about your finances and ask yourself if you could really pay a higher co-payment each time you went to the doctor's office. If you could, you should talk to your agent because your monthly premium payment will go down as your co-payment goes up. This is a good idea, especially for people who don't go to the doctor very often.
How much does your deductible cost? Again, you need to look at your finances and be honest about how much you can pay for your own health care. The higher your deductible, or the amount you can pay each year before asking your insurance company for help, the less you will pay each month in premiums.
You should now have a good idea of what kind of health care plan you can afford. The next step is to go online and compare prices for the coverage you've chosen from different insurance companies.
Don't stop comparing on just one website, because no one site compares all of the Florida insurance companies. You need to compare prices on at least three different websites. So, you can be sure that you are seeing the prices from all the different insurance companies. When you find the best deal, you can be sure that you have really compared low cost health insurance in Florida and that you have gotten the best deal possible.
