I was very surprised, and not in a nice way, to get two notices from my own health insurance company. The first one, as expected, notified me that rates were going up again this year. The second one shocked me becaue it notified me that I had grown a year older, and was now in a more expensive age band. So I got my rates increased, not once, but twice!I know others will be interested in knowing the top tips for saving money without losing good health coverage. Understand that all of these ideas will not work for everybody, but many people should be able to find one or two hot tips they can use to find cheaper health insurance. I see a lot of TOP 10 lists, so I thought I would go one better by providing 11 ways to cut health insurance premiums!- Can you raise your deductible? A health insurance deductible is the amount you must pay every year before your company starts to cover medical services. A $250 yearly deductible will cost thousands of dollars more, every year, than a $2500 yearly deductible. And of course, a $5,000 yearly deductible will be cheaper still. In fact, it may be possible to save more than the deductible difference. If you consider this option, it would be a good idea to try to set some of your savings aside in case you do run up more out of pocket medical expenses. – Sometimes more policies cost less. Many health insurance agents urge their cliets to be creative. They mention the tactic of buying major medical along with a cheap accident and/or critical illness plan. This can reduce out of pocket expenses, but be very affordable! If your deductible is $10,000, and little Suzy breaks her arm, the ER visit can be covered by a cash payment from an accident policy. If Dad has a minor heart attack, a critical illness policy can provide cash to cover the deductible, make up for lost income, and still cost less!- Do you really benefit from copay benefits? – Sure, you may have $40 copays, but the negotiated rate a network doctor can charge may not be that much more than that anyway. Meanwhile, you have paid 25% of your insurance premium for this benefit. If you have to pay a network negotiated rate for a $120 doctor’s office visit a couple of times a year, but that benefit costs you $1,200 a year, does that make sense? Balance your yearly deductible vs. the copay benefit to make a decision. – Can you qualify for any government health? I know lots of families who carry individual health insurance on themselves, but use the CHIPS programs for their kids. They have a moderate income so their children qualify for the federal children’s program. – Raise Your Deductible – The premium difference between a $500 deductible and a $2500 yearly deductible can be thousands of dollars every year. It would take months for you to save the difference. – Consider an H. S. A – The tax advantages of a health savings account can be worth hundreds of dollars every month. In addition, you can use tax deferred dollars to pay for many medical services, including a higher deductible. – Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle – You know that people who do not smoke and who maintain a normal weight will get discounts for health insurance. – Raise your RX deductible – If you aren’t comfortable with raising your yearly medical deductible, consider raising your RX deductible. Some plans will let you keep the lower deductible if you buy generics anyway. – Look for consumer driven health plans. – If you are a man or older woman, and do not have children, some state mandated benefits like early childhood care or maternity care do not make sense. Why pay for them. You can find some consumer driven health plans that make you sign a paper that you understand you are skipping these benefits that you do not need. Of course, be sure you will not need them in the near future. – Will a part time job provide health insurance? – If you are self-employed, or work at a job that does not provide health insurance, consider working part time for a company that provides group health insurance. If one spouse could find a 20 hour a week job with an employer who provides health insurance, it may help a lot. – Shop Around for Cheaper Health Insurance Premiums – Insurers keep coming up with new and innovative health insurance plans, and don’t assume your old company gives you the best rates. Nothing could be simpler than using an online health insurance quote form to compare rates and plans. You know that you should be sure you have qualified for, and been accepted by, a new health plan before you cancel your old one. But people do shop around for health insurance and change in order to keep top quality medical coverage that makes sense while saving lots of money!