Health Insurance for Healthy People

Health insurance helps pay for the cost of medical treatment, guarding your financial health as well as your physical well-being. While people with chronic or preexisting medical conditions may have trouble finding affordable insurance, healthy people have more options. Finding the best combination of care and pricing is a matter of comparing options and understanding how health insurance works.

Options

• Healthy people can usually select from several options for health insurance. Group plans from employers are among the most common options. They pool workers from a company into a risk pool and employers have the option of covering a portion of the plan's cost. Students and members of social organizations or professional associations may also be eligible for group coverage. Individual health plans from private insurers are another option. They include comprehensive health plans that offer dental and vision coverage, as well as more minimal plans called high deductible, or catastrophic care, health insurance.

Rates

• Each type of health insurance for healthy people has its own method for determining rates and benefits. Group plans distribute risk among all the members so that rates remain low and each member pays the same price for the same level of coverage. Individual health plans that are comparable to group coverage typically cost more, though insurance companies charge rates based on the policyholder's age, gender and level of health. High deductible plans have low monthly premiums, but require policyholders to pay much more out of pocket, making them only an option for healthy people who have few medical needs.

Tips

• If you're in good health, you can save money by comparing each of the health insurance options available to you. For example, students should compare rates and coverage limits from a university's health plan, a high deductible plan and dependent coverage through a parent's employer. Healthy adults should compare group plans between spouses to decide which employer offers a better deal, or if it makes more sense to remain on separate plans. Staying health by refraining from excessive alcohol and tobacco use, or participating in a fitness program, can earn you a discount from some insurers.

Going Without Insurance

• Despite the options available to healthy people, some still choose to go without health insurance. This option represents a significant risk, since even healthy people can quickly fall victim to a sudden illness that requires costly treatment. High deductible plans, which are most common among young people and healthy retirees waiting for Medicare eligibility, offer an alternative to going without insurance, but may still make you liable for thousands of dollars in medical costs if you develop a chronic condition or suffer a major accident.