Health insurance is getting more and more expensive all the time. In fact, today almost 17% of all Floridians simply cannot afford health insurance at all.
If your place of employment offers a group policy, or if you belong to some group or organization that offers its members group health insurance you should take a good, long look at what they have to offer because group health insurance is almost always less expensive than individual health insurance and group health insurance is more likely to accept someone with a pre-existing condition.
If you own a home-based business and you’ve been in business at least six months then you may qualify for group health insurance rates under a Florida law even if you don’t have any employees. Check with your insurance agent for details and to see if you qualify.
Florida, like other states, wants to make certain that every student in the state has access to health care. To achieve this goal Florida has initiated what is called the KidCare Program. KidCare makes low-cost health insurance available to low income families on a need basis. To learn more simply go to: http://www.floridakidcare.org/
If you are in need of individual or family health insurance there are several things you can do to help keep the cost of your monthly premiums reasonable.
Start by not smoking or using tobacco products of any kind. Smokers pay more for health insurance. Period. If you already have a health insurance policy and you were a smoker when you got the policy but have since quit you should inform your agent of that fact as you may be entitled to a rather hefty decrease in your monthly premiums.
If you are overweight you will also pay more for your health insurance. Losing weight is even more difficult than quitting smoking, but if you can lose even a few pounds you may drop into a lower weight category and that could save you hundreds of dollars each and every year.
If you have multiple insurance policies with the same insurance company, such as a homeowner’s policy, or an auto policy, or a life insurance policy then you should be entitled to a Multi-Policy Discount on your health insurance.
If you have been insured with the same company for at least 5 years ask if you are entitled to a Long-Term Discount on your health insurance.
Don’t participate in dangerous or extreme sports or hobbies. If you unnecessarily put your life or health at risk you are going to pay more for your health insurance.
How much of a co-pay do you make whenever you see your doctor? Consider your financial situation carefully and ask yourself if you could honestly afford to pay a higher co-payment every time you visit your doctor’s office. If you could then talk to your agent because the higher your co-payment the lower your monthly premium payment. This is an especially good idea for people who do not visit their doctor on a regular basis.
What about your deductible? Again, you must look at your financial situation and make an honest assessment of your ability to pay for your own health care costs. The more you can afford to pay each year before you ask your insurance company to help you out – in other words, the higher your deductible – then the less you will pay each month in premiums.
You should now have an idea of what kind of a health care package you can afford, so it’s time to get online and compare prices among the different insurance companies for the coverage you’ve decided upon.
Don’t stop with making comparisons on just one website because no one website compares every insurance company operating in Florida. You need to take the time to make comparisons on at least 3 different websites. That way you can be certain that you are seeing the prices offered by all the different insurance companies and when you grab the best deal you can feel quite confident that you have truly compared low cost health insurance in Florida and that you have gotten the very best deal possible.