Despite the growing cost of medical care, there are still ways for you to find affordable health plans. You can do this by lowering the cost of your health insurance premium. This way, you can actually reduce your monthly payments without changing the type of health insurance. Follow these essential steps to lower the cost of your health insurance premium.  First, you can increase your deductible. This deductible is the annual cost that you will incur before your insurance company starts paying your coverage. A higher deductible will generally result to a lower premium. For eample, you can increase your annual deductible from $1,000 to $3,000 to lower your monthly premium to $125 per month from $175 per month. You can also increase your co-payment, the amount that you will pay when receiving medical care. You can choose a plan with a higher co-payment to reduce the cost of your monthly premium. Another step is to increase your co-insurance, the percentage of your medical bill that you are required to pay. If for eample, your co-insurance rate for a hospital stay is 40%, you will pay the first 40% of the cost and while your insurance company will pays the remaining 60%. A higher co-insurance percentage in general can lower the cost of your premium. Doing these three essential changes can result to affordable health plans and lower monthly health insurance premium. However, if you eperience a health problem that requires substantial medical care, it is possible that your overall cost may be higher during the year. You may eventually pay a higher co-payment, deductible, or co-insurance. -- June 26, 2009 @ 3:25 pm