How Do I Find The Balance Between Cost and Coverage?

Prevent Overpaying for Insurance:

Insurance has become increasingly expensive, often forcing people to not have insurance. The first step to balancing coverage and cost is to live healthily and holistically.

Understand that there are ways to decrease your insurance costs, so we'll go over a couple:

  1. If you have a car, practice safe driving habits. You decrease the possibility of causing a crash or receiving a speeding ticket, where both events would cause your insurance to go up.
  2. Maintain your health. You can avoid going to the doctor as much by eating healthy and exercising more. Maintaining preventative care can also prevent you from having health issues that can be costly.
  3. Shop for Insurance: Different insurance options exist, and other companies might be more favorable to you. If you scroll down, we'll explain more about the healthcare marketplace!!
  4. Explore a Higher Deductible: Often, a higher deductible will make insurance companies make your insurance cheaper as you need to hit a higher threshold before dipping into the "pool" of money we mentioned earlier.
  5. Stay Within a Medical Network: Your health insurance may only be accepted by particular providers, so choose the right one. The whole point of insurance is to help you not pay out of pocket, and by going to an external provider, you'd defeat the point.
  6. Understand Policy: There are often ways to decrease your insurance cost inside the policy. For example, some car insurance companies allow you to install a tracker in exchange for a lower insurance rate (be careful, though, if you drive unsafely, they'll make you pay more).

The Healthcare Marketplace:

  • This is run by the federal government and is also known as the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
  • It offers subsidized health insurance plans to those who qualify under their terms
  • The terms are usually based on income and household size.
  • You can enroll every year, but there is an option for those with qualifying life events to enroll in a different enrollment period.
  • If you have Medicare, you are not eligible.
  • To learn more you can go to healthcare.gov

Medicare

  • Health insurance plan for those 65 years old and older and people who might have certain disabilities at any age.
  • There are two main parts: Part A which is hospital insurance and Part B which is outpatient medical insurance.
  • You can also incorporate Part D, which is prescription drug coverage.
  • You cannot apply through the Marketplace. Learn more at medicare.gov

Medicaid

  • A federal and state program that probides health coverage for low-income individuals and families.
  • Eligibility depends on the state you are in.
  • If you'd like to learn more, visit medicaid.gov

Next Chapter: 

What Mistakes Should I Avoid at All Costs?

All Chapters:

[Chapter 1]: Introduction to Insurance Planning

[Chapter 2]: How do I Know if My Insurance Plan is Right for Me?

[Chapter 3]: What Are Some Key Terms I Should Know?

[Chapter 4]: How Do I Find the Balance Between Cost and Coverage?

[Chapter 5]: What Mistakes Should I Avoid at All Costs?

[Chapter 6]: How Can I Implement an Insurance Budget?