Why switch? First, my existing carrier increased my premiums regularly. This was interesting, because I didn’t make one claim in over 3 years and only used 1 doctor visit a year towards my deductible. I certainly wasn’t a strain on their program, in fact, they made out quite well from my premiums. Second, they didn’t have a flexible payment plan. Either I had to pay annually by check, or monthly by ACH debit from a bank account. Neither plan fit my needs.

So in doing some research, I realized that since I hadn’t made a claim in 3 years, and rarely, if ever, used the insurance, I could move to the next level. To get a better premium I needed to increase my deductible and switch to another health insurance company.

I started my search at eHealthInsurance and looked for available plans in my state. There were many, but I quickly sorted by price and reviewed the plan details. They have a nice system that allows you to search by many different criteria and review the plans in detail.

Here’s what I looked for:

• PPO Network
• high deductible options
• family coverage
• overall good company ratings
• flexible payment options

Within about an hour I had selected the plan that made the most sense for myself and my daughter and applied. The system allowed my to apply online without making a phone call or leaving my computer (although help was available by phone or email if I needed). I selected a plan with a high deductible, $7,500 per year.

Within 24 hours I had received a call from the underwriter, answered a few questions, and was approved for the policy. I selected my activation date and confirmed the premiums. Start to finish it took less than 2 days to get a new policy, and under $90 a month for both myself and my daughter along with a flexible payment plan and PPO coverage.

Here are some quick tips that can help you make this work.

If you have pre-existing conditions or have more than one or two health issues, this process won’t be as fast or easy.

You see, the healthier you are, the easier it is to get excellent coverage, fast. It just makes sense. If you are healthy, the insurance company has a much lower risk of spending any money on you and will welcome you with open arms, glad to accept your monthly premium. The more issues you have, the higher risk they have of expenses on your conditions. The more time they take, the more conditions they add and the more questions they ask.

Many may say the high deductible I selected doesn’t make sense since they use their insurance so often. But look at it another way. Don’t think of your insurance as a bank account when every time you need to see the doctor you want to get your money’s worth from your premium and have a low co-pay. I don’t care about the co-pay. I go to the doctor, maybe, once a year and spend a total of $70 at the visit.

If I opted for a lower deductible, it would raise my premium, on average, $75 a month. $75 times 12 months equals an additional $900 in premiums over the year. Why spend that much so I can have a lower deductible and co-pay if I plan to spend less than $100 a year on doctor visits?

The best way to look at a health insurance policy is to think of it as a safety net in case of a major emergency. Don’t think of it as a way to pay for routine exams, illnesses, etc. Set aside a few hundred dollars each quarter and pay for any routine visits in cash. It will save you hundreds and thousands each year in premiums. The doctor doesn’t need to process your claim through the insurance company, which saves them money and most are glad to accept less for a cash payment.

If you want to save money, I recommend doing everything you can to be healthy. See my previous article Five Ways To Trim Your Medical Costs and Save for tips on getting in top shape, and save money on your health insurance premiums in the process.

Come to find out, this was not medical insurance at all and the sales representative never told this poor lady. She found that out after her cards arrived in the mail. In tiny writing at the bottom, it read, “not an HMO, PPO insurance or managed care company”. It was basically a discount plan. These plans do not have the same coverage as a full medical health insurance policy. Before making a commitment, make sure you know what you are getting and if it fits your needs.

So what is a discount plan? The plans claims to save people money by offering discounts on physician visits, prescription drugs, dental work, eye care and other treatments for a monthly fee. Unlike normal health insurance, which is very costly and very selective about who it covers, a discount health plan accepts everyone, no matter what health conditions they may have. You will use a list of doctors that are willing to charge discounted rates to the subscriber. The discount plan is not the same as health insurance coverage, so you will pay more for visits and other services that you wouldn’t with a regular medical plan. The average savings is approximately 25% and that could be very expensive if you have to see a specialist or require surgery. These networks claim to have as many as 400,000 doctors and 50,000 hospitals available to choose from, but what if none of them are near you? You can get a savings of up to 30% on both generic and brand name drugs which could also be costly if your prescriptions are expensive or if you have multiple prescriptions. If you have an existing health plan but have a high deductible, this extra plan may help save you some money. But to use the savings plan as a complete health plan isn’t recommended. It really isn’t designed for that and will cost you more than a competitive HMO.

HMOs and other medical plans can offer full medical coverage at great rates. Managed care plans are recommended for those who are limited on funds. They offer the best policies for the least amount of money. Most of these plans are available to anyone and can save you considerably. You can make the plan even more affordable by asking for a higher deductible, which will lower your monthly expense. Most HMO’s do not have one at all but, you can request one, and most basic PPO’s and POS’s only have a small one, usually $200 to $500 per year, which you can also asked to raised to lower your monthly payments. The co-pays are also very reasonable with these types of plans. If you choose to purchase an HMO, expect to pay about $5-$10 per office visit and per prescription. With PPO’s and POS’s you will have a 20% co-pay with both visits and medications. The differences are how strict they are and you pay more of a co-pay to have extra flexibility. Usually a PPO or POS plan is less expensive and you have more freedom to see whom you want so the insurer makes you more responsible for payment. HMO’s tend to be the least expensive and best policies for people with fixed incomes.

Review your needs and double-check what you are getting. If you need full medical coverage with low co-pay then a discount plan will not work for you. If you are already covered by a medical group but have a large deductible then you might benefit from the extra savings a discount plan can offer. Also, ask whether the plan is health insurance that covers your treatment, or is a discount plan that still requires you to pay all medical bills yourself less the discount. Beware of slippery sales pitches. Make sure you know what’s being offered. Discount health plans may only sell you access to a large mailing list of medical providers that it purchased commercially. Don’t assume you’re getting access to a large provider network just because your discount card displays the network’s name and logo. If you plan to use a specific listed doctor, hospital, pharmacy or other provider, ask a few questions before you sign up. The more details and information you get, the better decision you can make for your health insurance needs.