The best way to get health insurance is to understand where to look, what policy provisions are and to sign up. Here are some tips that’ll help you out.

The United States population collectively carries $81 billion in medical debt. That number is continuing to swell as people find themselves getting more sick and have fewer avenues to pay for the increasing cost of medical care.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem and that solution is medical insurance.

Medical insurance has been traditionally stigmatized due to the high cost that people who can’t get insured through their work have to pay. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act though, many Americans have found pathways towards getting insured.

The purpose of this article is to help you better understand the importance of medical insurance, what provisions it provides and how you can get some semblance of coverage.

By going through our simple steps below, we have no doubt that you’ll discover the best way to get health insurance.

Resolve to Never Do Without Insurance

If you’re reading this article, chances are you already know the importance of being insured. That’s great because you’d be surprised to learn how many people just like you who don’t think that insurance is a necessity.

At any moment, any one of us can fall prey to an accident or an incident.

Maybe you’ll break your leg playing basketball. Perhaps, you’ll suffer a heart attack and will need an ambulance ride to the emergency room.

Either of those incidents and a multitude of others will set you back tens of thousands of dollars.

Insurance lets you avoid having to foot that bill.

Bottom line – Don’t ever think that it can’t happen to you.

Understand Key Policy Previsions

A lot of what keeps people from buying medical insurance is how darn complicated it can be to sort through policies. We don’t blame you if you’re in that boat because many of the people on our team are there too.

When picking a policy, three numbers that you’ll want to understand are your policy premiums, your deductible and your out of pocket maximum.

Your policy premium is how much you’ll have to pay per month to have insurance. Your deductible is how much money you’ll have to pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in.

You’re out of pocket maximum is a limit on out of pocket expenditures on an annual basis. Once you go over that limit, your coverage is free (you’ll still have to pay your monthly premium).

Think About the Level of Care That You Need

Insurance plans come in at different costs. Generally speaking, plans that carry higher premiums require less in the way of out of pocket expenses when you get sick. Policies with low premiums will have much higher out of pocket expenses.

Consider how likely you are to need medical coverage during the year and pick your policy accordingly.

Explore Your Employer Options

Once you have an idea of what you’re looking for in an insurance policy, you’ll want to see if your employer offers coverage options. Employers that offer insurance subsidize policies and therefore, you’ll always want to get your policy through them if that’s an option.

If your employer doesn’t offer insurance, lobby them to start providing coverage and/or start looking for a job that does.

Determine If Health Shares Are an Option

If getting traditional insurance seems costly, health shares might be a good alternate best way to get health insurance.

Health shares are basically private insurance circles where you and a small group pool together to help one another pay medical expenses when they come up.

Learn about Health Share Programs here such as UHSM (Unite Health Share Ministries), where members help share the cost of medical bills.

Most health shares are operated by religious organizations and as such, might not pay out if an injury is incurred when doing things that are considered sinful (getting injured while drinking and driving for example).

Head Over to the ACA Website

What a lot of people deem to be the hands-down best way to get health insurance is going through the ACA website.

The ACA is essentially a marketplace where users can shop for insurance plans at rates that are based on their income.

While filling out some of the forms on the site can be a little difficult, there are a lot of resources out there which can streamline the process.

Click here to look up prospective insurance plans through the ACA or if you’re still having trouble, consider going to this site for insurance or another third party broker that might be more helpful.

See If You Qualify for Heavily Subsidized Care

If you meet certain income thresholds on the ACA website, they might ask that you fill out a separate form with your state’s local Medicaid office. We recommend that you do.

When you fill out the additional application, low-income insurance seekers may end up qualifying for low-cost or no-cost insurance coverage.

Consider Dental and Vision

By this point, you should feel like you have a multitude of options when it comes to getting medical insurance. Now, as a final consideration, you’ll want to consider dental and/or vision insurance.

The ACA website does sell dental plans alongside its medical coverage. You can also get dental and vision insurance from private companies directly.

Our Final Thoughts on the Best Way to Get Health Insurance

We hesitate to tell you what the best way to get health insurance is because for each person, what’s considered best may vary.

What we will say is that for most people, a great place to start your search is with an employer or through the ACA website.

See which health insurance avenue seems best for you and good luck getting insured!

Need more information? No problem!

Our website offers a variety of content that we think will satiate your thirst for knowledge so keep browsing our health-focused articles today!