If you are one of millions of Americans without health insurance looking to obtain and don’t know where to start, you are in a right place. Many people need a health insurance plan, but don’t know where to begin looking or feel that they can’t afford it. The truth is that you can’t afford not to have it. There is a dearth of health insurance service providers resulting in a very competitive market. Here are some tips to find the health care plan that you and your family need.
Group Plans vs. Individual Plans
While many people think that it is cheaper to purchase health care through an employer or some form of a group plan, this is not always the case. The cost of your plan will depend on a number of different factors. If your employer is going to pay most or all of the plan’s cost than of course it would be in your best interest to select that option and receive free or low cost health insurance. However, of you are a healthy individual and you can receive insurance through your employer but they are not going to foot the bill, then you will most likely be better of buying an individual plan on your own.
Group health plans, by state laws, must cover everyone on them, including preexisting conditions. This means that healthy people on the plan balance out the costs that the insurance companies will have to pay for the people that have health problems who are also covered under the plan. While this works out well for people with health problems because the insurance company is required to cover them, it makes the cost of insurance for reasonably healthy people higher than if they were to purchase an individual plan on their own. So, don’t just assume that your group or employer sponsored health plan is the most cost effective plan for you. Take the time to shop around and compare quotes and see if there is a more cost effective plan available to you.
