Finding an affordable health insurance company is getting more difficult than ever, as insurance costs continue to rise.

But with health care costs also rising, it’s critical that you find medical care coverage you can afford. The trick is finding a balance between the coverage you need and the payments you can afford.

What Are Your Options?

Your first choice should almost always be to enroll in a group plan from your employer. These plans tend to offer the lowest prices around and will usually cover your spouse and children too.

However, if you don’t have access to an employer plan, then you need to look into a private plan.

Private Health Insurance

Many options for private health care plans are available to you. The most affordable choices are usually managed care plans such as HMOs and PPOs. With these types of plans, you are trading the freedom to choose your own health care provider for lower monthly premiums.

Of course you still want good coverage, so be sure to check out the managed health care plan’s doctors and ask questions such as …

* How hard is it to change primary care doctors?

* Do I need referrals or permission to visit a specialist?

* What is the cost for seeing an out-of-network doctor?

* What health care services are covered?

Lowering Your Premiums Even More

In addition to choosing a managed health care plan, you can take other steps to making your health care plan as affordable as possible:

* Set your deductibles and co-payment amounts as high as you can afford. The higher you set your deductible and co-payments, the lower your premiums will be. However, don’t set them so high that you can’t afford to go to the doctor!

* Keep yourself in good health. Eat right, exercise regularly, avoid tobacco, and keep yourself healthy.

* Use an insurance comparison website to quickly and easily compare quotes from different health insurance providers. (See link below).

Where to Get Affordable Rates

Visit or click on the following link to get affordable health insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more tips and advice in their Articles section, and get answers to your questions from an insurance expert by using their online chat service.

The authors, Brian Stevens and Stacey Schifferdecker, have spent 30 years in the insurance and finance industries, and have written numerous articles on finding an affordable health insurance company.