How to Lower Health Care Insurance Premiums

Health insurance is a major expenditure for businesses and individuals, and the costs for coverage seem to always be going up. Indeed, Bloomberg News Service reports that the cost of health care premiums for U.S. businesses has been rising faster than employee wages and inflation since the late 1990s. While there are many factors involved in driving up costs, there are actions that you can take to try to lower your costs, including your health insurance premiums.

Instructions

• 1

  Increase your deductible. While you'll have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs if you need medical care, your monthly premium will be lower. This is definitely an option to consider if your overall health is good and you rarely need medical care.

• 2

  Enroll in a major medical plan. A major medical plan will not cover routine doctor's visits so you'll have to pay those costs yourself, but it will cover major expenses, such as surgery, emergency room care, hospital stays and tests. The premiums are low, but the deductibles can be high, often above $1,000.

• 3

  Raise your office co-pay amount. Doing this will lower your monthly premium but will leave you on the hook to pay for more of your care after your deductible has been met.

• 4

  Quit smoking. Besides the benefits to your health, non-smokers pay lower rates for health and life insurance.

• 5

  Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Maintain a healthy weight for your body type and age, exercise regularly, eat healthier foods, and monitor any medical conditions that you have or may be at a higher risk for due to factors, such as your heredity or lifestyle.

• 6

  Enroll in programs that your insurance provider offers to reimburse you for costs incurred, such as a smoking cessation or weight-loss program, or gym fees. While these won't directly reduce your premium, the reimbursement check can help you pay for the costs of these programs.

• 7

  Open a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA is an account that allows you to contribute money that can be deducted from your federal income taxes, similar to the way an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) works, except the money in your HSA can only be used for qualified medical expenses (as decided by the IRS). You can allow the money that you contribute to your HSA to accumulate over time so that you can use it as you get older and your medical expenses increase, or use it at present should you require medical care. You need to be enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), which is a type of catastrophic coverage plan in which your premiums will be lower than in a standard plan, but your deductible will be higher if you need care covered by the plan. HDHPs generally do not cover routine medical care, such as doctor's visits, which you will need to pay out-of-pocket.