| Health Insurance premiums rose 6% this year, and that | | | | family health plan with a $500 yearly deductible, you |
| might not sound so bad if you don't stop to consider | | | | may not be making the most of your money. You |
| that those premiums have shot up 80% since 2001. | | | | may reduce that premium bill to $400 or less by |
| Furthermore, Wellpoint, the largest private US health | | | | increasing your yearly deductible to a couple of |
| insurer reported an 8 percent profit increase in the last | | | | thousand dollars a year. In that year you will save the |
| year. That's good news for investors, but not so good | | | | difference in the deductible price in your premium bill. |
| for self employed people and small business owners. | | | | With any discipline, you can bank all, or some, of the |
| In their own defense, major health insurance | | | | savings. Then you will have an emergency account |
| companies blame the increase on longer hospital stays, | | | | set up to pay the extra deductible, and if you never |
| increasing medical costs, and their insured who want | | | | need to use it, and we hope you don't, you will have a |
| the latest treatments, which cost more. New | | | | nice savings account after a few years! |
| prescription drugs, which have not yet been released | | | | Also consider managing those factors you can control. |
| as generic drugs, may also contribute to the costs. | | | | Most health insurance companies offer discounts for |
| Can We Control Anything About Health Costs? | | | | healthy habits like keeping your weight within normal |
| If we want to lower our monthly premiums, we | | | | limits and avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol. If you |
| probably need to accept that we need to reduce our | | | | do have a health condition like high blood pressure or |
| coverage. In the health insurance arena, with other | | | | high cholesterol, but if you follow your doctor's advice |
| factors being equal, apples and apples cost about the | | | | and control it, many health insurance companies will |
| same. In other words, the premium for similar plans | | | | offer you a standard rate, with no increase. |
| with a $500 deductible, $30 Doctor Copays, and a six | | | | Shop Around For A Health Plan You Can Live With! |
| million dollar lifetime maximum, plus other similar factors, | | | | Think about why you really need health insurance. You |
| will cost just about the same amount of dollars for a | | | | need to protect your assets in case of a major illness |
| person of the same gender, health status, and zip | | | | or injury. You need access to quality health care. You |
| code. There is not one health insurance company with | | | | do not want to worry about going bankrupt over an |
| a "free lunch" out there, and if the premiums looks too | | | | illness, or facing an emergency you have no way to |
| good to be true, you need to look at the health plan | | | | pay for. Then buy health insurance for those reasons, |
| again! | | | | and not to cover every sniffle. |
| But look at it this way. If you pay $700 a month for a | | | | |