How to Save Money on Health Insurance

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10 Responses to “How to Save Money on Health Insurance”

1. 1
   Mase Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 10:41 am

   The biggest thing I’ve done in the past two years was to switch to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with a health savings account (HSA). I’ve been able to contribute almost $11K into the HSA the past two years (a good portion was a ‘pass-through’ of my premium directly to my HSA). Long-term, HSA’s are a no-brainer, as the money saved, coupled with the tax-savings (tax-free in, earnings tax-free, tax-free out if spent on medical expenses).

2. 2
   cemccon Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 1:30 pm

   Just one comment about raising one’s deductible: First, you need to do the math. By that, I mean you should add up the difference in premiums between, say, your $500 deductible plan and $1,000 dedcutible plan, and make sure the reduction in premiums doesn’t exceed $500. That may seem like a no-brainer, but with my employer, there is only one of their three deductible choices that doesn’t save you more in premium reductions than the increase in the deductible.

3. 3
   Laura Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

   @Mase: I’m glad you’ve been able to create a system that works for your health care needs.

   @cemccon: Great point; thanks for sharing the tip. It’’s definitely wise to double check each policy’s coverage and small print. You don’t want to find out too late.

4. 4
   Jim Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

   Like Mase I’m also using a high deductible plan with an HSA. Mine is through work. With the HSA plan I only pay for what I actually use. Last year we saved about $1600 with the HSA plan compared to the traditional insurance with copay/coinsurance. If we’d used more medical services we’d have more cost with the HSA but our maximum cost with the HSA is still about $700 less.

   Extra bonus with the HSA is that we can put more money into the HSA account and then use pretax dollars to pay for any other medical expenses such as dental bills or even over the counter drugs.

   Jim

5. 5
   Ray Sanchez Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 4:00 pm

   I actually don’t have health insurance, but I don’t plan on getting sick.

6. 6
   BuffetFan Says:
   March 18th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

   Here’s a pretty good HSA service that I’m using that’s fairly low cost that I’d found in my research 2 years ago that people might find useful. It’s the best one I’ve found so far for new accounts:

   http://www.AmericanChartered.com

   - Rick

7. 7
   Carma Says:
   March 19th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

   About, the well child care at the Health Department, I was not aware of that.
   At one point, our son, who was about 19 at the time and uninsured, got strep throat. I called the Health Department and was told that they only did lab work for (you guessed it) sexually transmitted diseases. I asked if it counted that his girlfriend got strep throat ahead of him. This struck me odd, since strep throat was a very communicable disease but our tax dollars going into the Health Department would only cover . . . What we did was call our family doctor and tell him that our son’s girlfriend had a positive strep culture, and our son had a sore throat. Our Doctor called a penicillian prescription over to the pharmacy. It was under $10.00 to pick that up without insurance. Worth a try. I’m sure it helps when the Dr. knows the family very well.

8. 8
   Trav Says:
   March 19th, 2009 at 1:33 pm

   If you live in northern (and maybe southern) California, and are looking for an HSA, Patelco credit union is offering an amazing 5% interest rate on their HSA savings accounts. I’ve just signed up for it so have no firsthand experience, but my insurance broker has an HSA there and loves it.

9. 9
   Jeremy Says:
   March 20th, 2009 at 1:00 am

   There are some great high deductible plans out there that offer 1 physical a year and first dollar Rx benefits. These plans are ideal for people that only see a doctor 1-2 times a year and are in great health.

10. 10
    Laura Says:
    March 20th, 2009 at 9:00 am

    @Ray: Look around, you may find something acceptable, even if it’s catastrophic health insurance.

    @ Carma: Good point on family doctors. Some will work with you and your financial situation.

    @Rick, Trav, and Jeremy: Thanks for the suggestions! I hope it can help some people.