Health Insurance

With health care costs constantly rising, you may be looking for ways to lower your medical and health insurance expenses. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Practice prevention
This may seem basic, but one of the most effective ways to lower your medical expenses over time is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example, you can:

Take advantage of wellness programs
Maintain a healthy weight
Exercise regularly
Kick unhealthy habits (e.g. smoking)
Have regular checkups

Shop around for health insurance

There are several factors which control what you pay for health insurance. Some are within your control and some are not.

The primary factors that affect your price for private health insurance are:
Age, gender, zip code, smoking status, medical care history, weight, chosen carrier and your choice of policy and options.

If you have just graduated from college or have been out of school for a couple years, you could be facing a health insurance dilemma. Chances are you were under your parents' health insurance policy while you were a full-time student. But most health plans will cut the apron strings once you reach age 22 to 25.