To find and compare a variety of health insurance estimates just enter your ZIP code in the FREE search box today!
According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2009 a staggering forty million U.S. citizens were without health insurance. This rose to 49.9 million only a year later. Many people lost their jobs and were unable to find affordable health insurance while they were searching for new employment.
Group Health Insurance
If your employer sponsors group health insurancedon’t hesitate to take it! Group health insurance tends to be more affordable for most folks than private options. If your employer is paying some or all of the premium costs it’s the best deal you can possibly hope for.
Usually an employer will cover a percentage of the health insurance premiums and the employees are responsible to pay for the deductibles, copayments and coinsurance.
How much you will pay in out of pocket expenses will depend on how often you use your insurance and how many people are on your plan.
For those who are self employed or unemployed finding affordable health insurance can be more of a challenge. If your spouse is employed, see if you can join your spouse’s health insurance plan. This is still group health insurance, and it’s likely to be cheaper than finding private health insurance on your own.
Check Into Government Programs
If you’re unemployed it might be a good idea to look into government funded health insurance to see if you qualify. According to Medicaid.gov there are over 11 million low income people who receive Medicaid. Each state has different requirements and coverage for those individual or families in need.
It’s a requirement for employers to offer an extension of health insurance to those workers who are fired, laid off or quit.
COBRA is a popular short term health insurance used in these situations and provides health insurance for those who are in between jobs. COBRA is a type of temporary health insurance and cannot be turned into long term health insurance.
It’s never a bad idea to consider getting different policies for different members of the family. If you’re looking for affordable health insurance for children, it’s worth applying to your state’s CHIP program. CHIP stands for Children’s Health Insurance Program and this provides health insurance for those children with low income families.
Many people don’t try CHIP because they believe there yearly income is too high, but CHIP can provide health insurance to children of family with higher than poverty yearly incomes too. There is usually a low monthly premium depending on the amount of yearly income.
Make Your Wish List
If you’ve exhausted all other options it might be time to look into affordable private health insurance. You can take several different avenues to shop around and find the plan that works best for you.
First thing is to decide what you need for coverage. If you’re young, single and healthy this could be very straightforward. If you have a family, you’ll probably need coverage for everyone in your family. It’s best to have a list of what you as an individual need for health insurance and add in other requirements if you have a family.
Once you know what you need for coverage it’s time to start comparing different policies. Do your research. Use the internet to explore different health insurance policies. There are several different websites that can help you achieve this.
Think Outside The Box
If you’re discovering the actual amount for a good policy premium is well above your budget don’t panic. While you do get what you pay for, there are other things you can do to make it more affordable.
If finding different health insurance policies for individual family members is too much work than you can consider looking into associations and organizations group health insurance. Many organizations have group insurance for their members, such as AAA. Group health insurance is always much more affordable than individual private health insurance.
Again it’s always best to consider your options when searching for the most affordable health insurance. Don’t ever take the first policy you come across because chances are there are better alternatives to saving you money.
To look at health insurance rates for your area, simply enter your ZIP code in the FREE search box now!