Health insurance - Instead of basic health coverage, pay the medications yourself, only pay for hospitalization insurance

12. Save $100 per month – Health insurance – Instead of basic health coverage, pay the medications yourself, only pay for hospitalization insurance

To save money on health insurance, instead of paying for basic healthcare coverage, only pay for hospitalization. For most people that hardly get sick, are better off paying for their medications and doctor visits themselves rather than depending on an insurance for basic coverage with 100% markup.

Watch out for getting your company to pay part of your disability. If you do then you will likely have to pay taxes on the money.

If you pay yourself, you can get the money tax free (This is a really important point to understand, and your HR benefits director at work can walk you through it. Basically, if you pay for your disability insurance with after-tax dollars, your benefit should you ever need it would be tax free. But again, double check with your HR department)

Keep health insurers honest. If you're like most people, you pay no attention to your health coverage. So when your insurer messes up, which they frequently do, you don't know it. For example, many policies have a deductible of $200 per person, $400 per family. But are you keeping track of when you reach those magic numbers? Don't assume your insurance company is. Read and understand your policies and keep your own tally: you may need it for tax purposes anyway.

Don't let your doctor cost you money. If your health insurance provider agrees to pay 80% of covered procedures, that generally means they'll pay 80% of what they think is reasonable for that procedure, not 80% of whatever it costs. So find out what your insurance company is willing to pay and if your doctor can do it for that amount.

HMOs are normally the cheapest way to get health coverage.

Also check out idea nr. 80: $$ Save $1,000s+ per year – Save money with a Health Savings Account (HSA)

Also check out idea nr. 103: $$ Save $1,000+ per year – 17 ways to save money on medications

Also check out idea nr. 90: $$$ >> Make $2,000+ per month – Become an Make-Money-Become-Millionaire consultant!

< Back to list