If you pay attention to your own health insurance rates, you may notice that they tend to go up over time. Most people know that health insurance premiums tend to go up over time. This can put a lot of stress on a person's budget if they are already living on a tight budget. Spend some time learning about how health insurance rates are calculated and why they sometimes go up. This will help you predict when your rates will go up in the future.
Even though many people notice when their health insurance rates go up, they almost never notice when they go down. Premiums almost never go down, and the reason is the same as why most health insurance rates go up. Inflation has a big effect on the health care industry, just as it does on every other area of modern business. As the cost of living goes up, so does the cost of health care. This means that insurance companies have to raise their rates if they don't want to lose money. Economists generally agree that inflation is the main reason why health insurance rates go up.
The other reason you might have to pay more for health insurance is that you cost your insurance company money. When you make more insurance claims, the company has to spend more money on you. This makes you a financial risk, so if you make a lot of claims, your insurance company may raise your rates. Because of this, people who need health insurance the most often have trouble making their monthly payments after their insurance rates go up all of a sudden.
Insurance companies usually charge different people different rates based on how often they are likely to make a claim. This is to protect the insurance company. This is why people with long-term health problems like asthma, vision problems, or diabetes tend to have higher rates than people who don't have these problems. It's also why people who smoke, who are more likely to have health problems related to smoking, pay more for health insurance than most non-smokers, who are statistically less likely to file a claim. If you've recently been to a hospital or had a doctor give you a new prescription, your health insurance rates will go up to reflect that.
