If you are looking for health insurance in today’s poor economic climate then here are 5 five things which you ought to watch out for.

1. Does your policy provide you with cover both at work and away from your job?

Many health insurance plans contain specific exclusions that eliminate your benefits for anything which could have been covered under Workers Compensation or a similar law. Now stop and read that last sentence once more and pay special attention to the words ‘could have been covered’. That’s correct, the majority of self employed individuals and even a few small business owners do not carry Workers Comp on themselves.

There are insurance policies which will cover you on and off the job 24 hours a day, as long as the law doesn not require you to have Workers Compensation coverage.

2. Are you writing off your insurance premiums?

Independent contractors (1099’s), home based business owners, professionals and other self employed people are not taking advantage of the tax laws available to them.

Many individuals who are paying all of their own costs can deduct their monthly insurance premiums. This alone can lower your out-of-pocket costs by up to 40%. Ask your accountant if you are eligible or check the IRS website to get more information.

3. Look closely at a plan’s internal limits

All health insurance policies have some sort of internal controls which are used to determine how much the insurer is prepared to pay out for a particular procedure or service. There are two basic methods:

A. Scheduled Benefits

A lot of plans, some of which are specifically marketed to indpendent and self employed people, have a clear schedule of how much they will pay per doctor office visit, stay in hospital or even what payment limits are imposed for testing in any 24 hour period. This sort of structure is normally seen in ‘Indemnity plans’. If you are presented with one of these policies make sure that you see the schedule of benefits in writing. It is important that you understand any limits up front because once they have been reached the company will not pay anything over the stated amount.

B. Usual and Customary Expenses

‘Usual and Customary’ refers to the rate of pay out for a doctor office visit, procedure or hospital stay that is based on what most physicians and facilities charge for that particular service in that geographical or comparable area. ‘Usual and Customary’ charges represent the maximum level of coverage on most major medical policies.

4. Remember that you are able to shop around

If you are reading this there is a fair chance that you are shopping for a health plan.

Each day people shop for everything from groceries to a new home and while shopping price, value, personal needs and general market conditions get evaluated by the buyer. With this in mind, it seem very strange that most people never bother to ask how much a procedure, test or even doctor visit is going to cost. In today’s constantly changing insurance market it will become increasingly important for these questions to be asked. Asking about price will help you to get the most from your policy and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.

5. Pay attention to networks and discounts

Almost all insurers work closely with medical networks to obtain discounted rates. In broad terms, networks consist of medical professionals and facilities who contract to bill at discounted rates for services provided. In many cases the network itself forms one of the defining properties of your program. Discounts will generally vary from 10% to 60% or even more.

Medical network discounts vary but to make sure that you pay the lowest out-of-pocket expenses, it is imperative that you check out the network’s list of physicians and facilities before committing yourself to a plan. This is not only to make sure that your local hospital and doctors are included in the network, but also to see what your options would be if you were to need referral to a specialist.

Follow these tips and you will find cheap health insurance that provides you with the level of cover you require.