Most people think that health insurance is one of the most expensive types of insurance that the average American needs to buy. In fact, about 17% of people who live in Florida can't afford any health insurance at all.
Group health insurance is almost always cheaper than health care for one person, so if your employer or an organisation you belong to offers group health insurance, that may be your best option.
If you don't have insurance and meet certain low-income requirements, your children younger than 19 may be eligible for the KidCare Program in the state of Florida. Check out http://www.floridakidcare.org/ for more information on this programme run by the state.
If you run a business out of your home, talk to your insurance agent. Even if they don't have any employees, many home-based businesses in Florida can get health insurance at a group rate.
If you are still looking for health insurance for yourself, there may be ways to lower the cost of your policy so that it doesn't make you sick.
Start with the fact that you smoke. If you smoke or use any other tobacco product, like chew, you should stop. Period. People who smoke pay a much higher rate for health insurance than people who don't smoke. If you currently have health insurance and you smoked when you first got it but have stopped, you should talk to your agent. You could be entitled to a pretty big drop in your monthly premiums.
Are you overweight? Even though most Americans are overweight, it still costs more for people who are overweight to buy health insurance than for people whose weight is in the "normal" range. You don't have to lose all of your weight to get a discount on your health insurance, which is good news. Even a small amount of weight loss can move you into a lower-priced category and save you money every year.
Don't do sports or hobbies that are dangerous or extreme. Your health insurance costs will go up if you put your life or health at risk for no reason. Having a dangerous job can also cause your health insurance to cost more.
If you've had health insurance with the same company for at least 5 years, you may be eligible for a Long-Term Discount. Also, if you have other types of insurance with the same company, like auto or home insurance, you should get a Multi-Policy Discount on your health insurance.
How much do you have to pay when you go to the doctor now? Many people have co-payments of 20 or 25 percent. Did you know that you can save up to 20 percent on your monthly health insurance premiums if you raise your co-pay to 50 percent? This is a great way for people who don't go to the doctor often to save a lot of money every year.
How much does your deductible cost? Your deductible is the amount of money you have to pay each year for your own health care before your insurance company will pay anything. The higher your deductible, the lower your monthly premium payment will be. But before you raise your deductible, think carefully about everything, because you will need to find extra money every year for your own health care.
Now that you've read this article, it's time to go online and put what you've learned into at least three of the many websites that let you quickly compare health insurance policies and prices from different companies.
Make sure to compare prices on at least three different sites if you want to be sure that the low price you see is the lowest you can get. Doing comparisons on multiple websites takes a little more time, but you will save money and get cheaper health insurance in Florida as a result.
