Let’s face it. Nearly everyone these days is dealing with the high cost of health care. Even if you are a healthy person you have been affected by rising premiums and higher deductibles and lower quality care. There is little that you can do other than to shop around and take the best deals and hope for the best. Typically the deductibles are so high that unless you have a major health issue, you may well go half way through a year before you actually meet the deductible needed to satisfy your insurance company.

It’s a phenomenon that is not new to the current time and economic situation but it has grown since the recent changes in the economy. People who hold a current green card are often allowed access to certain state and government programs that are not available to the insured individuals. While the people who have an expired green card are not as likely to qualify. Also, people who are either taking the US citizenship exam or are studying to do so may also qualify for some assistance not available to the general public.

It is a noted problem that the insurance companies have for a long time been able to dictate who can and can not qualify or coverage. They also were able to say that if you have a pre-existing condition that you could have either no benefits or limited benefits which could last forever or for a stipulated number of years.

The trick in insurance is that most plans offer preventative maintenance at a very low price. What that means is that if are being proactive in your healthcare and that you are seeing the doctor regularly the insurance companies charge you less because they feel that if there is a problem that it will be caught early while it is still treatable for a relatively inexpensive price.

The one problem with that theory is that once you are “on the books” as having a major health issue, they can then often raise the premium costs to where it is too expensive for you to get coverage. You also then have an existing condition and can not usually get coverage from another insurer. As you might well imagine this has made the cost of insurance and health care over all increase to where it is nearly impossible for the average individual to afford to maintain a decent health care plan.

For that reason the heath savings plans have become a very popular alternative in this country. It allows you to put aside a portion of income towards the possibility of a medical procedure r other medical care and differs the tax liabilities due on that money so it can usually save most folks money and still puts cash there when you may need it for a medical emergency. Keep in mind that t there is no right or wrong answer for every situation and you should weigh all of your options before you actually make a decision on which plan or which option is best for you and your family.

If you have just lost your job and also your medical insurance then this could put you in a bind. You need to get medical coverage because if you do not have it then the costs of a doctor and prescriptions can make you go broke. Most people lost their jobs around the holidays which put them in a financial position where they couldn’t even afford artificial Christmas trees because the COBRA costs were so high.

COBRA is outrageous for medical coverage. The last thing you want to do is pay for this medical cost because they are making a killing off of you. COBRA is more about making money than taking care of your medical needs and you should never pay the costs of what they are offering you to continue your company medical benefits. You can get another type of medical coverage so your family can afford things like artificial Christmas trees and gifts to put under the prelit Christmas trees during the holidays.

The first thing you need to do if you have children is get them on a free medical plan. If you have lost your job then the state will most likely put them under Medicaid and they will be covered for free. Don’t think that you cannot qualify for this coverage because your income has to be very high for you to be denied with children. Another thing to consider is that when you qualify for free state medical for children there are many programs that will give you big discounts. Some phone companies like Terracom will only charge you $1.99 a month for your phone bill just because you qualify for free medical for the kids. Medicaid will not cover you as an adult. The government doesn’t care about you if you are able to be working but they will take care of the children’s medical costs and all prescriptions will be free.

The next thing you need to do for medical if you just lost coverage is to shop around with medical insurance companies. The benefit here is that you are only looking for you and your spouse and not family coverage. Individual medical health plans are very affordable. You can find a plan paying around $200 a month for the two of you. This is hundreds cheaper each month than you would pay with COBRA.

Another thing you need to consider is prescriptions. You may not be able to afford the best medical coverage or a plan that pays for the majority of the cost of prescriptions. Many stores like Wal-Mart have prescription programs where all of their prescriptions only cost $4 each. You do not need medical insurance to take advantage of these discounts. Always fill prescriptions in places like this to get the best deals possible. Prescriptions can be expensive and in most cases, the medical insurance co pay to fill a prescription is much higher than what you would pay the $4 out of pocket. In a case like this you don’t want to use your medical insurance but pay cash.

Article source: http://www.acesshealthcare.com/blog/
health-insurance-and-prescription-tips-if-you-just-lost-your-job/