Think of it like car maintenance. Regularly changing your car’s oil can be a pain, but it’s a must to prevent a major breakdown down the road.
The same is true for maintaining your health. Annual checkups aren’t fun, but they can identify health issues that can be treated before they become major medical problems.
Uninsured people also put off medical treatment when they’re sick—again, to try and save money. You’re pretty sure you have hay fever because you sneeze nonstop. But then you notice you’re sneezing all the time, not just during hay fever season.
You know you should check your symptoms by a doctor, but you keep putting it off because you don’t have insurance, and you know a doctor visit will cost money. Eventually, your symptoms get so bad that you go to the emergency room. After a bunch of tests, you find out that you have a sinus tumor that requires major surgery. Not the ending anyone would hope for, right?
If you’d been injured and gone to the doctor in the first place, you could have avoided an expensive visit to the ER and major surgery. And lots of stress too!
Look, health insurance isn’t mandatory. There’s no law requiring you to buy it. But health insurance is essential to staying healthy—financially and physically.
How to Afford Health Insurance
Here’s the good news. There are some great ways to save money on the cost of your health insurance. We put together some helpful tips below.
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
If your employer offers a health care plan at work, it can be an excellent way to lower your health insurance cost. Many employers even pay a portion of your premium.
But there are other ways to save on your health coverage cost too. The best way to find out which option is the most cost-effective for you is to connect with one of our Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs).
Low-Cost Insurance Plan
Most health insurance providers offer low-cost plans for healthy people. They’re called “catastrophic” health plans and are designed to protect you from worst-case scenarios. These catastrophic health plans (aka health insurance for healthy people) usually have a high deductible to keep your premium low.
Health Savings Account
Another excellent way to save money on your health insurance is using a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA is a type of savings account that lets you save pretax dollars to help pay for qualified medical expenses, and it works hand in hand with a high-deductible health plan.
You can’t use HSA dollars to pay your health coverage premium, but you can use them to pay for your health insurance deductible, copayments, and more.
In addition to the savings and low-cost advantages, the health insurance application process has gotten much easier too. You can find out which plan works for you and how to save money in no time.
Find the Best Health Insurance Plan for You
Our advice? Do not go without health insurance. You can find options to get you the coverage you need.
Our Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs) are unbiased health coverage experts and will be able to tell you about the most cost-effective plan that’s right for you.
