The good news is that finding health insurance in California is not impossible.  The bad news is that a lot of people (nearly 1 in 5 according to many polls) do not carry any health insurance in California. If you are among those, you should definitely look into getting individual health insurance.  California, in addition, offers you several programs to help you find an individual policy that is right for you.

Do You Need to Get Health Insurance?

So how can you find low cost health insurance? California—with its high cost of living—seems like the most unlikely of places to offer anything that most people will find affordable.  But there are some exceptions to this.

If you are young and healthy, for example, you can get low-cost health insurance quotes.  California has several providers that will offer you a discount if you are young.  This is especially helpful for those who are in college but do not want to use the school health services for privacy reasons.

Finding your own health insurance may also be important if you are not satisfied with the insurance plan offered by you or your spouse’s employer, or if your current employer does not offer health insurance.

If you are self-employed, you may also need to find your own health insurance.

Finding Affordable Health Insurance: Options

So how can you get cheap health insurance in California?

First you need to understand your options when it comes to getting yourself the best health insurance. California health providers, of course, will offer you the traditional form of insurance, in which every aspect of your health is covered and you are allowed to go to any doctor you want to without getting a referral.  Getting a California health insurance quote for this kind of coverage will quickly show you why most people consider this to be out of their price ranges.

It is far more affordable to get California health insurance quotes for PPO’s or HMO’s.  PPO’s, “Preferred Provider Organizations,” offer participants the choice of any physician within a particular circle of doctors who agree to the prices designated by the PPO. This cost control measure allows them to keep your California health insurance quote within manageable ranges.

So long as you do not go to a physician outside of their circle, this could work for you.

There are, however, other options when it comes to getting group health insurance. California HMO’s (“Health Management Organizations”) are similar to PPO’s, but instead of giving you the choice of any physician within a circle, you choose one Primary Care Physician (“PCP”) and agree to only go to a specialist to which this PCP refers you. These cost controls allow HMO’s to keep your California health insurance quotes within reasonable ranges as well.

In a nutshell, PPO’s and HMO’s are much more affordable than more traditional California health insurance options, but they require certain restrictions in your care.

Deciding on the Best Health Insurance Option for You

Even when you have decided on a particular medium of health insurance, such as HMO or PPO, you may still have difficulty deciding between individual health plans. One of the main problems arises from the difficulty of understanding the technical language of individual California health insurance policies.

This is where Incorporated Insurance Services comes in. At IIS, we are big believers in helping our clients to better educate themselves about their choices and find the best health insurance policy for them.  Our trained agents can help you to sort through the complicated provisions of individual policies to find the one that best meets your needs.

Other Factors that Can Help Reduce Your Health Insurance Quotes

In addition, you should know that there are a number of factors that can help you trim some of the cost out of your health insurance. California health insurance providers offer a number of programs like this. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

Quitting Smoking: Bad habits such as smoking will raise your rates. If it is possible, you want to quit such habits before you seek out your health plan since this will inflate the costs of your health insurance. California quotes for smokers tend to be significantly higher than for those without such habits.

Consider Emergency Only Health Insurance: For many participants, getting “emergency only” health insurance is a short term possibility. This kind of health insurance will provide you with a security blanket should you be struck by extreme health issues.  This kind of insurance only kicks in however, after you have paid a significant portion of your health costs yourself.

This kind of “high deductible” insurance policy has some significant drawbacks however, since you will have to pay for 100% of routine health care costs such as doctor’s visits and prescription drugs. In many cases, you may actually find it less expensive to take on the costs of a more comprehensive health care plan.

Regardless of which policy you choose, you should definitely carry some kind of health care insurance. Incorporated Insurance Services can help you find the right insurance for you and your individual circumstances.  Just give us a call and take the first step towards making sure that you and your family stay healthy.