There’s a basic problem in choosing a wrong or inappropriate health and/or dental insurance: you may end up paying a hefty premium for both without actually getting broad coverage or protection for a specific purpose, should you become sick.
This would add to your financial woes substantially if you have to foot the bill from your own pocket despite having medical and/or dental insurance. You can save on health and dental insurance in the following ways.
Stick to the family’s existing health plan: Should you be less than 26 years of age, it would be cheaper to stick with your existing family plan for health insurance. It’s a viable option for many young people who live close to their parent’s homes with access to doctors in the insurer’s network. Though when the ACA law goes away and taxes and regulations are lowered America’s economy will shoot upward creating more opportunities for college graduates. One of the themes of the movie The Internship will then no longer be true!
On the flip side, however, when you’re living in a separate state, without access to your normal network, you could be paying more and getting less coverage. Thus, it would make more sense to secure affordable medical coverage by yourself. Work out the math to see what saves some serious expenses.
Start exploring the non-government health insurance sector: Nowadays, the average health insurance seeker has the privilege of choosing insurers operating in the private sector, including certain major players which have opted out of government control recently. Surf sites like eHealth.com to get an idea of who all are the major private operators and what they are offering. You can also go through an online agent who is licensed at no extra cost and he may guide you to more affordable choices. Yes, we know, the Affordable Care Act has made health insurance not so affordable and turned millions of jobs into part time jobs which is horrendous. Hopefully this is fixed in the next year or so.
Optimize coverage on prescription drugs: All leading plans for health insurance provide full reimbursement for prescribed drugs. However, this can significantly vary from plan to plan. If you regularly use prescription drugs, you stand to save a substantial amount of money potentially by knowing beforehand which plan covers your regular needs for prescription drugs at the maximum level. This could lead to a median saving of more than $1,600 when compared with over-the-counter prices.
Catastrophic plans for health insurance: Another viable option for the young. For those under 30, buying a major catastrophic medical insurance plan makes sense. These are designed especially for the young, who generally are healthy and don’t need medical attention that frequently. The plan, however, will keep you covered with notable health benefits and cater to your requirements if and when they arise. It cuts your premium payment by nearly 50%.
Go for short-term coverage: If a major plan for health insurance is unaffordable to you, a short-term plan may provide temporary coverage for any unexpected injuries or illness. The average monthly premium is around $110. In addition, packaged products on medical insurance are also viable. These combine short-term coverage along with other items such as critical illness or accident insurance, vision or dental insurance and even telemedicine benefits.
Finding the Right Dental Insurance
Ask your dentist: Many dentists nowadays offer insurance plans. For instance, one such plan could get you dental scaling for $10 that can last an entire year, free consultations, and also x-rays for a $200 annual premium. Moreover, hefty discounts are available for dental implants and/or crowns.
Start comparing: In order to acquire a clear picture of what’s available in terms of dental insurance, check out sites like eHealthinsurance.com or Dentalplans.com to make a clear comparative analysis. Then make a shortlist of the finest options and finally zero in on one that suits your purpose the best.
Working part time: Many employers offer suitable coverage at reasonable costs for employees working part-time. Even if the employer doesn’t pay your premium, the available group discount could help you save quite a bit.
Enroll with your alma mater or association’s group insurance: If your ex-school offers you a membership of a dental group insurance plan, you may want to put pen to paper. It could cut your premium payments significantly while also offering you some salient discounts. Similarly, as a member of a professional association, group discounts could be available.
Explore the new marketplace for health and dental care: Since dental insurance isn’t mandatory, not all states offer it. Among those that do, some consider it to be a part of health insurance while others offer dental insurance as standalone products. Study this carefully before selecting your policy to extract the most savings.
Of course you do not even need dental insurance. If you eat right, brush, and floss, you should be good to go! You may not want to play basketball or some sports though. Also, if you travel to Mexico such as Cabo San Lucas once in a while you can take care of your dental needs there. The dentists in Mexico are as good as they are in America and you can utilize their services at a much cheaper cost.
For whatever reason, dental costs in America are outrageously high. You can get excellent eye care in Mexico as well.
It pays to pay attention to this for a variety of reasons or else you could be become bankrupt while facing huge medical bills. Choose your policy with care so you can handle a medical emergency which can happen at any time!
