Daniel Stewart

Tips on How to Afford Health Insurance

Healthcare costs are at an all-time high, and serious medical issues can quickly deplete a family's savings and put them into significant debt. Fortunately, health insurance can offset healthcare costs, providing the necessary care you need without going into extreme debt.

But even the monthly cost of health insurance can be challenging to manage. Here are a few tips to help you choose a health insurance plan you can afford.

Explore the Marketplace

The go-to for many people is to get healthcare through their employer. However, that option isn't always available, and you could have more affordable choices. The Health Insurance Marketplace is a federally operated platform that lets qualified individuals sign up for private health insurance plans that meet their needs.

The open enrollment period is relatively brief, lasting less than two months at the end of the year. But if you apply during that time, you can access many low-cost plans.

Utilize Tax Credits

The Health Insurance Marketplace also allows you to explore possible tax credits to offset the monthly cost of health insurance. The tax credits vary based on your income level. But it's possible to qualify for several hundreds of dollars in credit every month.

Applying credit to your monthly insurance premiums makes high-value plans more accessible.

Go for Bronze

The Marketplace separates available plans into four categories, reflecting premium costs and coverage. These include Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. On the upper end of the scale, Platinum plans are the most expensive. But they have the best coverage and little out-of-pocket costs.

Bronze is usually the best way to go if affordability is a priority. These plans come with higher deductibles. However, the monthly premiums are more affordable. With tax credits, it can cost a single person less than $100 a month to maintain coverage.

Consider an HDHP

Our last tip is to consider a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). An HDHP comes with a higher deductible and lower premiums like the Bronze marketplace plans. However, an HDHP also has the added perk of qualifying you for a Health Savings Account.

The low premiums of an HDHP give you more wiggle room to put money into your HSA, building your savings to cover high deductibles when you need them.

Author Resource:-

Daniel Stewart has been helping people with their money management and personal finance with over 15 years' experience in business finance. You can find his thoughts at health investment blog.