It is easy, but most people don’t do it. The secret is to get a health insurance plan while you are young and healthy. (Did I hear you groan?) Health Insurance is usually the last place where a young man looks to spend his money – women are much more interested in safety, security and don’t feel invulnerable to the vagaries of the world.

It isn’t too late. Even if you are older now, and didn’t get the plan you need, you can start right now. (You aren’t likely to get heathier as you age. As we age, we tend to put on weight and as we age, more things tend to go worng.)

If you are the correct weight for your height and you don’t use tobacco, you might get a preferred rate on your plan.

So, it sounds pretty easy. Just get the insurance plan early while you are young and healthy!

Another salient point. Once you have obtained a plan, and have a rating as to your health at that time, that insurance company cannot change it later. So, let’s take an example. Let’s say you get a preferred rate on a plan and two weeks later, you are diagnosed with cancer. THE INSURANCE COMPANY CANNOT CHANGE YOUR RATING based on your health, and it cannot increase your premium. You will carry this preferred rate as long as you stay with that carrier.

Your monthly premium will likely go up each year because, of course, you are a year older. Also, the general population in your area of the state will have aged. They also might have a higher incidence of disease, so your premium will increase. Remember, though, the amount of your premium increase will likely be less than someone who didn’t get a preferred rate to start with.

What do you do if you have financial trouble?

I would suggest that if you possibly can, keep your plan in force. If you have a preferential rate, don’t lose it by canceling your health insurance – simply change to a less expensive plan with your current carrier.

You might be “forced” into considering an HSA type plan. This type plan is a high deductible health plan that doesn’t have copays for doctors and drugs. You may feel that you are forced to make this decision. Actually, this is the way you should have gone from the start. HSA plans are not only less expensive per month, but your total out-of-pocket expenses, if you are hospitalized, are typically less than copay type plans. In addition, you have the right, but not the obligation, to open a health savings account at your local bank.

The money that you deposit into this savings account is not subject to taxes. The tax savings that you will experience will reduce your overall expense of the health insurance plan. Don’t underestimate the effect that taxes have. For example, as an individual, you can deposit $3,000 into your HSA account for 2009. The average individual is in the 28% tax bracket. Add in the state’s income tax fee, which is usually in the range of 8%, and you have a savings of $.36 of every dollar you deposit into YOUR account. That is $1,080 or $90 per month!

Let’s take an example: You find that you need to have your gall bladder removed. If you have a copay plan, you typically will have a deductible of $2,500. So, you are likely to think that you will have to pay $2,500 to have this procedure done. No, no, my friend. You still have something you may not know about, or forgot about. It is called coinsurance. Coinsurance means that you co-insure the first $10,000 of the expenses with the insurance company. The most common coinsurance proportion is 70/30. That means that you will pay 30% of the first $10,000 and the insurance company will pay 70% of the first $10,000. In other words, you pay $3,000 and the insurance company pays $7,000 of the first $10,000. After that, the insurance company pays 100% — up to the limit of the policy.

Since a gall bladder operation is at least $10,000, you will have to pay your portion of the coinsurance, 30% or $3,000.

Let’s do the math: You are going to pay $2,500 for the deductible and another $3,000 for the coinsurance. Out-of-pocket expenses in this situation total $5,500. Where do you have that much money put away? It isn’t easy to come up with the money, but you can usually work out a payment plan with the doctors and the hospital. If you don’t have any insurance, this isn’t quite as easy, and they charge you much more for the same procedure.

Now, let’s compare the out of pocket expense for the less expensive HSA plan. The most popular HSA type plan for an individual is $2,700 deductible with NO coinsurance — That means that the insurance company pays 100% of expenses after the deductible is met. So, if you have that same gall bladder operation, your out-of-pocket expense will be $2,700. That’s it. So you see, your risk is reduced from $5,500 to only $2,700. That is a savings of $2,800 – over 50% savings in the amount YOU have to pay!

Be wary of insurance companies where the rate is lower than the “gold standard” plan in your state. Lesser known insurance companies may be trying to “buy your business” in your state. They will get you in with a teaser rate. Next year, you are likely to have a gigantic increase in your premium. Why? Because they don’t have a large enough insured base. If a small number of people get dread diseases, it affects the small population of insured people inordinately.

If this happens to you, you would leave and go to another insurance company. You can leave, only if you are still healthy. If your health has changed for the worse during that year, you are stuck with the expensive insurance company. Next year, the healthy people will leave and go find insurance elsewhere. . . only the sick people stay, because they have to. It is an upward spiral of insurance premiums. The insurance company will have to make up their losses by increasing YOUR premium. You don’t want to get caught in this horrible situation.

In summary:

Find the right health insurance carrier from the start, and stay with it.

* It must be one that has a history of paying claims without a hassle.
* It must be one that is accepted by all the hospitals in your state.
* It needs to be the insurance company with which almost all the doctors participate.
* Make sure that the plan covers you if you were to travel to other states or to other countries.
* Choose a high deductible health plan and open up an HSA (Health Savings Account).
* (Don’t go for the best priced plan from a company not well established in your state.

Author: Richard Day
Source: ezinearticles.com

Because money withdrawn from a health savings account to pay medical expenses is tax-free, anyone who has an HSA can funnel all alternative medical expenses through their HSA and get a tax write-off.�This could include biofeedback, naturopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, aromatherapy, magnetic healing, reflexology, and the list goes on.

People who use complementary therapies are often very health conscious, and go to traditional physicians less often.�So it does not make sense for them to be paying a high premium for a traditional health insurance plan with a co-pay, particularly when their medical treatments are not covered anyway.�Instead, many are choosing a low cost high-deductible HSA plan.

Alternative Therapies Becoming Mainstream

Many hospitals are now offering complementary treatments.�The website for the Memorial Sloan-Keating Cancer Center states that complementary therapies are used to “help alleviate stress, reduce pain and anxiety, manage symptoms, and promote a feeling of well-being.”

Some group health insurance plans are beginning to cover more complementary expenses, but there is still very little coverage for these expenses in individual or family plans.�Those that cover chiropractic limit coverage to 12 – 20 visits per year, and a few will cover a limited amount of acupuncture.�But very few if any cover hypnotherapy, Reiki, iridology, or faith healers.

Why Complementary Medicine

The conventional medicine practiced by most MDs is called allopathic medicine.�The philosophy of this system is to treat disease and injury using counteractive methods.�For instance, if you have a fever you may take aspirin to make it go down, if your cholesterol is elevated you may take a statin to reduce it, if you have heartburn you may take an antacid.�The thinking is mostly focused on removing the symptoms of disease, and the primary treatment modalities are surgery and prescription drugs.

But there are other ways to look at things. Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief in the body’s own healing powers, which can be strengthened through the use of certain foods, vitamins, herbs, or other “natural” treatments.�Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is based on ancient Chinese theories about the balance of yin and yang.�Ayurvedic medicine is based on principles of movement, metabolism, and structure.

Part of the growing use of complementary therapies is a reaction to the costs, side effects, and philosophy of conventional allopathic medicine.�Physicians get much of their continuing education from the pharmaceutical industry, and they work in an environment where the insurers and the patients are both looking for a quick fix.�The result is that the average 60 year old is now taking 5 regular medications, yet there is little expectation that those drugs will ever cure the health problems for which they’re being used.�Many consumers see this, and instead are using other methods to try to get to the root of their illness.

What is Considered a “Qualified Expense”

Qualified medical expenses have been partially defined in IRS Publication 502, and through various federal court rulings.�There is no definitive list, but there are really very few restrictions as long as the procedure is for the treatment or prevention of a specific health condition.�For instance, you could not use your HSA funds to pay for a relaxing massage for your own personal pleasure.�But if your doctor recommends you get a massage for specific medical reasons, this is considered a qualified expense.�Yoga would not normally be considered a qualified medical expense, but it would be if it was recommended as a physical therapy following some sort of accident.

Some may question why the government would give a tax deduction for someone to use some crazy energy vibration machine to cure their cancer.�But this is as it should be.�No one but you should be able to decide what type of treatment you will use for your own illnesses.�By empowering individuals to manage their health as they see fit, HSAs encourage personal responsibility and help loosen the monopoly on healthcare that conventional medicine has had for the past few decades.