A lot of people are choosing to switch to private health care due to the uncertainty over the future of Government-run health care. Since this ambiguity seems so prevalent at the moment, now is a good time to adopt some tactics to make sure you have the best medical care covered for you and your family, regardless of what the future may bring.
Find the best health insurance plans for you
Make sure to compare different plans and make an informed decision based on what’s best for you and is the most cost-effective. In saying this, it isn’t advised to judge a health insurance policy by its price tag, even though that is the first thing we all look at when making a decision like this.
Consider your options, for example:
- What kind of subsidies or tax credits you can get
- How much can you actually afford to pay
- What are the realistic needs of you and your family
The needs of a family with young children will differ highly from a young couple without children or seniors. Furthermore, enquire the options you have if you want to get a domestic partner covered on your plan that you are not married too – there are differ laws and regulations surrounding this, some do not offer this in their policy whilst others do.
Choosing a ‘high deductible’ policy, will mean you will fork-out less in premiums. When putting in a claim, far more will be paid due to the deductible. The good health of you and those in your plan and not having had any accidents will mean a lower premium and higher deductible plan. If the opposite of that is the case, you may end up forfeiting a lot more money. To assess the cost of health insurance, you should look at how much you will have paid in by the end of the policy, once all your medical appointments, prescriptions or emergencies have been accounted for.
Lifestyle changes
As you may be aware some lifestyle choices, especially smoking, can mean the cost of your health care can skyrocket!
Because of the obvious affects smoking or excessive consumption of alcohol has on your health, policy-providers have no choice but to charge smokers a higher fee because smokers are far more likely to claim on their insurance due to critical health or early death.
For more information of how smoking can affect your health care policy click here.
For information on how to quit smoking click here
Look for advantages and added extras
There are many plans that offer incentives for joining their policy – take full advantage of them! This advice is focussed more on how to save money with health insurance, rather than on.
You can, though this, save money on other things not directly related to your health care. A lot of insurers offer a discounted gym membership as part of their plan. Some offer extras, like free weekly cinema tickets or chain-brand coffee.
You can directly save money on your health care if you have children – a lot of plans offer free cover for young children.
Picking the policy with benefits, and taking advantage of the benefits that come with your pack can save you a lot more money than you think per annum. For example, your cashing-in your privilege of a free weekly coffee will save you a lot of money with Brits spending around a huge £730 million on between everyone in the nation a year!
Furthermore, taking full advantage of your gym membership, and getting in shape and overall more healthy can potentially reduce the cost of your plan – the healthier you are the better for you and the better for your pocket!
Avoid making too many claims
Just because you have the insurance, does not mean you should claim regularly! Making a claim actually increases your premium rates. So, it is recommended not to claim on everything you are entitled too unless it is very necessary. Instead, it is wise to pay small claims out of your own money to ensure the premium does not rise.
Only claim when you think it is absolutely necessary, and do not at times which there are alternative options.
