When it comes to finding the best healthcare insurance plan, you should know beforehand that there are no perfect insurance policies. Some plans require you to pay only a small premium, but when it’s time for you to use it because you are in an accident or fall sick, the coverage is quite small that you end up paying a lot of medical bills. There are other plans wherein they can cover a lot of illnesses and accidents but you would have to pay a huge premium every month.
There are ways you can take care of your medical needs without breaking the bank, such as a medical GAP insurance provider. But if you really want to find a plan that will be most suitable for you, here are some tips that you can follow:
Assess your situation
If you’re looking for a healthcare plan, you should assess your situation first health-wise and financially. Ask yourself these questions: Do you smoke? Are you a regular drinker? Do you exercise? How often do you exercise? Do you watch what you eat? Do you eat more vegetables than meat? Do you snack a lot? Is your job stressful? Do you sit in an office all day?
Try answering those questions. If you see that the kind of life you’re living isn’t a healthy one, then you might want to adjust your lifestyle so that you can afford a good healthcare insurance plan. Understand that insurance companies are willing to lower their premiums for a healthy client because the chances of him asking for a claim due to falling ill is lower than someone who doesn’t take care of their body. If you find that you’re not as healthy as you would want to be, start adjusting the way you live and then get an insurance plan.
Consult a broker
An insurance broker can help you find the best healthcare insurance plan for you. They know the lay of the land, and they can help you figure out what kind of plan would best suit you. Also, it’s better to consult an insurance broker than an insurance company. The former works for you, so their objective is to look for the best insurance policy for you. An insurance company, on the other hand, will only try to sell you their own insurance plans.
Learn to ask for a discount
There may come a time when the going gets too tough that even your best laid plans can’t hack it. If you’re in a situation wherein your insurance plan doesn’t cover an illness or accident you incurred, then you might have to ask your doctor or the hospital to take it easy on you. Despite what you might think, there are doctors and hospitals out there that are open to negotiating their prices. All you have to do is to ask and be open to them about your financial situation.
You’re probably thinking that it’s not that simple and that you’ll be right because doctors and hospitals are also under a lot of pressure to prevent giving discounts. To make it easier for them, you can ask a doctor to give you a discount if you’re going to pay in cash. Or you can ask the hospital to give you a discount for one of your procedures as an alternative to having one procedure in their facility and have the other in a much cheaper clinic. There are many ways you can negotiate the price of your doctor or your hospital. You just have to ask and keep on asking until you find middle ground.
