TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2022
Approximately 17% of all Floridians can't afford health insurance of any kind. Fortunately there are ways for you to stay insured or to get health insurance if you aren't insured now, even if you have little spare money each month.
Let's start with your kids. If you have children 19 years of age or younger who are not covered by any health insurance – even if one or more of them has a pre-existing condition – it may be possible for you to get them very low cost state-sponsored health insurance through a program known as KidCare.
To see if your children qualify for KidCare health coverage simply go to: http://www.floridakidcare.org/
If your place of employment doesn't offer group health insurance then check around with any organizations that you belong to. Many times automobile clubs, fraternal organizations, even churches have some form of group health insurance that they can offer to members at a tremendous discount over individual health care.
Group health care has one other advantage – they often accept pre-existing conditions that individual health care does not.
If you own your own home-based business and you've been operating for at least six months there is a special Florida law that may allow you to get group health insurance even if you have no employees or if your only employee is your spouse who helps out on even a part-time basis. Check with your insurance agent to see if you qualify.
While you're talking with your insurance agent ask if you qualify for a multi-policy discount on your health insurance. If you have more than one insurance policy with the same company you may be entitled to a break on your monthly health care premiums.
Also, if you have been with the same insurance company for at least 5 years ask if you qualify for a long-term policy discount. Most insurance companies will give you one if you ask for it.
If you smoke or use any tobacco product – stop. Period. You will never get the cheapest health care available if you smoke, use chew or any other tobacco product.
Your weight also plays a role in how much you pay for health insurance. Losing weight is more difficult than quitting smoking for most people, but losing even a little weight can drop you into a lower weight and cost category and can save you hundreds of dollars each and every year in premium costs.
Don't participate in dangerous or extreme sports if you want to get cheap health insurance. Obviously if you go out of your way to put your health in jeopardy you're not going to get the cheapest rate available for your health insurance.
Consider carefully what the maximum percentage is that you can afford as a co-payment each time you see your doctor. If you can afford a 50% co-payment you'll get a good break on your monthly premium. This is an extremely good idea for people who do not see their doctor on a regular basis.
Another important question to ask is how large of a deductible can you afford to pay? Your deductible is cash that you have to pull out of your own pocket to pay for your own health care each year, so think about this carefully and be honest about how much you can really afford to pay. The more you can pay – the larger your deductible – then the less your insurance company will charge you each month in health insurance premiums.
Now take everything you've learned in this article and create a health insurance policy that is designed to save you the most money possible. Once you've done that then get online and find at least 3 different websites that let you make side-by-side comparisons of health insurance policies and their prices from different insurance companies.
Make comparisons of the same policy on at least 3 different sites. Once you've done that then you can easily get cheap health insurance online in Florida and feel confident that you have gotten the very best price you can possibly find.