More than 45 million Americans are without health insurance, according to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

While recognizing the dangers of high health costs if they become ill, many choose not to have coverage because they feel it is too expensive.

But the lack of insurance can be financially devastating if a catastrophic illness or injury occurs. While health insurance rates are expensive, there are ways to reduce your premiums and control those costs.

Tailor Your Coverage
Most individual medical insurance plans provide coverage for hospitalization and major medical care and offer an assortment of deductibles, coinsurance amounts, and out-of-pocket limits. 
Additional benefits, such as doctor visit co-pays, preventive care and prescription drug coverage, may be added for a fee.

The best approach is to evaluate your situation and determine if you need these additional benefits for the additional cost. Also determine the maximum amount of medical costs you could pay out of pocket in the event of a claim.
 
Once you know the amount, shop for policies offering a wide range of deductible and coinsurance choices.  You can reduce the premium cost by choosing a higher annual deductible and/or selecting a lower coinsurance benefit.  For example, a policy with a 70/30 coinsurance (company pays 70 percent, insured pays 30 percent) can save you up to 10 percent over a policy with 80/20 coinsurance. 

PPO
Policies using a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) offer savings on premiums and services.  A PPO has arrangements with doctors, hospitals and other providers to accept lower fees from the insurer for their services.  The savings are passed along to you in the form of lower premiums and lower cost sharing.  PPOs have directories listing all providers in their network.  You can check to see if your doctor or preferred medical facility is "in network" before deciding on a plan.

Before you buy any health insurance policy, make sure you know what it pays for and what it doesn’t.  Shopping for coverage can be complicated, but the more information you have, the easier it is to decide what fits your needs and budget.

AAA Insurance Agency is a full service life & health insurance brokerage agency. For more information about the services offered, call 800-333-4242