People have been searching for medical insurance online for over 10 years now, and according to research at Forrester, this number is only going to keep growing as a greater percentage of people do their insurance searches on the internet.
When you perform your search online, you are going to be presented with up to hundreds of different health insurance choices. For the average person, its just overwhelming and we recommend that you work with a quality advisor to make the right decision.
If you want to make the decision yourself, here are the basics:
Know your monthly budget: This is going to be the best place to start and it will reduce your choices substantially – unless the sky is the limit… When setting your budget, don’t skimp – you can get inexpensive plans – but you give up a lot in benefits.
Know your healthcare needs: Have an honest conversation with yourself about what you and your families needs are. Is anyone sick and frequently needs to see a doctor? Is everyone healthy and you really only see a doctor once or twice a year? Copays make more sense if you need a lot of care – but if you rarely use the healthcare system an HSA program may be right for you.
Know how much you can afford out of your own pocket: This will establish how much you should choose for your maximum out of pocket expenses.
Most online health insurance quote systems will give you the ability to choose all of the above. After you are done telling the system how much you can spend and what kind of plan you want, your choices should narrow to just a few options. Once you have those options, you can start looking at the finer points like ‘Is my doctor in the network’ etc.
At the end of the day, a good health insurance agent will help you navigate all of the above and will discuss important considerations you probably won’t think of on your own. And this comes at no cost to you as the monthly rate you pay is the same if you have an agent or don’t have an agent.
by Clelland Green
Whether you are seeking affordable health insurance coverage for yourself, your family or for your business, Benepath will gives you instant quotes for affordable health insurance coverage from the top health insurance providers. In just a few moments, you will see affordable health insurance plans including PPO plans, HSA plans and HMO plans. Furthermore, the Benepath website will permit users to view a comparison of the various health insurance quotes which have been sourced from the top health insurance providers in the country. This will ensure that you gain the assurance that their selected affordable health insurance coverage offers the best value for the money and is able to take care of their family’s or their staff’s health needs.
Comparing the benefits which are offered by a number of health insurance options is a wise move and thanks to the straightforward website of Benepath, you will be able to do just that – get the most affordable health insurance plan which is best suited to your particular needs
When looking for health insurance coverage, it is recommended that you select a local health insurance agent that has a good knowledge of the local insurance companies and their networks of doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals. A good agent can really help you avoid the “gotcha” too many people face when buying a plan without the help of an experienced agent.
Benepath has helped over 100,000 consumers who were seeking good value for their money find health insurance coverage that was able to meet their family’s healthcare needs. At Benepath you will receive quotations for affordable health insurance coverage from local insurance providers without any obligation. Feel free to visit the Benepath website at https://www.benepath.com and get no-cost, no-obligation, affordable health insurance quotes from many well-known health insurance providers.
For individuals and families buying health insurance for themselves, the smart decision is to get a high deductible health plan and not to buy a plan with copayments for prescriptions and office visits. The reason is simple – it will cost you much less in the long run.
However, if you do this, you must set up and fund an HSA!
There is a lot of evidence right now that when someone has a copay to see a doctor, that they will see the doctor many more times than someone who has to pay for the service out of their pocket. Which means that person is more likely to see a doctor when it is really needed and they will end up avoiding more expensive medical care.
The big advantage of the high deductible health plan is savings and protection. It protects you from the large health care expenses and saves you money today on your premiums. But don’t be dollar wise and penny foolish and not get the routine care you need on a day to day basis.
One of the best ways to help you avoid making cost decisions for care you need is by setting up a Health Savings Account (HSA). My recommendation is take at least half of what you save by purchasing a high deductible plan and investing in your HSA. For my family its $100 a month, and that covers all of our routine care like pediatric visits and prescriptions. We have a debit card attached to the HSA, so its easy to use as well. After all of our treatments, we even have money left over at the end of the year – and the interest is tax free.
Having the money in the HSA will help you avoid the mistake of not going to the doctor when its needed and will help you spread out the expenses you will certainly face as you take on a greater share of your necessary medical expenses.
And if you don’t use the money, when you turn 65 the savings that are there are the same as the money in your IRA. So its your’s to use without penalty. But you can still take the money out tax-free for medical expenses – which will be one of your biggest expenses when you retire.
Happy Hunting!
In an altruistic world, where service truly is the focus of the provider and especially those selling their services, you might expect the answer to the question, “Who can you trust?” to be anyone in the health care industry. Health insurance is there to provide services for people who are insuring the health, wealth, and happiness of themselves and their loved ones so that you would hope that the business offering the health insurance quotes would have your best interests at heart.
Unfortunately, carpet baggers and snake oil pushers are still prevalent in today’s society and its critical to avoid health insurance scam artists. While the cost and benefits of policies from well known and respected companies are highly regulated; there are companies selling everything from health plans with little to no insurance or plain old discount plans to consumers as full blown health insurance plans. Recently, the New York Times reported on companies using health reform to further defraud consumers.
Some web sites offer online health insurance quotes and preferred package opportunities that are only scams to collect your email address which they sell to as many spam lists as they can. Another down side of choosing health insurance quotes that appear low and seem highly affordable is the possibility that when you need coverage you find out that everything is so limited that you basically have no coverage.
So which health insurance quotes provider can you trust? Those from well established websites like Benepath who provide the best prices available, the same prices that you can get directly from the carriers themselves, and the ability to compare the top companies’ packages with HMO, PPO, and HSA quotes. Health Insurance websites like Benepath have lots of plans from top carriers to review and Benepath partners with local agents across the country to provide you with those quotes.
You can trust a company that encourages you to choose only the medical insurance quotes with the health services that you need, rather than an inflated package that expands either the practitioner’s or the carrier’s pocket by giving you unnecessary benefits and coverage. Sites that allow you to compare health insurance quotes from reputable carriers like Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross, and UnitedHealthcare who are financially strong and will be around to assist you in your hour of need are where you should invest your time.
Companies like Benepath work with local insurance agents and help you select the right health insurance quotes from the nations’ top carriers. Benepath gives you the ability to do online comparisons, they connect you with local agents with expertise who will help you choose the right plan, and then give you the opportunity to apply online and not wait any longer to get the coverage that your family deserves. Getting health insurance quotes takes only seconds online with no obligation and no hard sell follow up.
There’s always been a debate about Health Savings Accounts and they may not be the right thing for some people. They got a lot of press attention, but still, many people don’t truly understand what they will do for them. Ideally, if you don’t understand what the benefits of an HSA are, call your local health insurance broker for information.
An HSA is a savings account, and if you don’t think you’d be opening one, then this may not be the way to save for your medical expenses. You also have to have the “save money” mindset to make this work. So, if you spend what you get when you get it, a health savings account might not suit your lifestyle. But, it does have some terrific advantages that you could at least check out.
To learn more, visit https://www.benepath.com.
Yes, you can get an HSA if you are over 55. The only thing you will need to know right up front is that if you do choose to go this route, you will need to catch up payments in order to be in a beneficial position. If you’re older, you might be able to swing that, as many older Americans do tend to have assets by that age. Although with the recession, this isn’t as frequent as it used to be.
You don’t have to go with an HSA if you don’t feel it’s the right thing for you. You could go with Major Medical instead or even with a Co-pay plan. Your life is unique and you will want what works the best for you, so make it a point to talk to an expert health insurance broker who can assess which plan(s) will work for you.