When shopping for health insurance you often find yourself comparing co-pays and deductibles between plans.

 Office Visit Co-pay:

The Doctor visit copay is the amount that you pay each time you visit the doctor.  Typical low deductible plans have co-pays that range from $10 to $30 per visit.

Perscription Co-pay:

This is the amount you will pay per perscriptions filled.  A typical plan for a 30 day perscription may charge a $10 fee for generic brands and a $20 Co-pay for formulary-brand drugs.  If you have doubts about whether or not to purchase pharmacy coverage, the best thing to do is try it out for a year and near the end of the year decide whether its worth keeping.

Insurance Deductible:

The deductible is the annual amount of your medical expense that you must pay before your health insurance company begins paying providers or reimburses you for claims.  Typically it is a good idea to select plans sith deductibles ranging upto $1500.  Higher deductible plans have deductibles ranging from $1500 to $5000.  Just like auto insurance, the benefit of having a higher health insurance deductibe is finding your monthly premiums will be much lower.  Utlimately choosing the right deductible for you depends on how you feel about your health.  Do you only visit the doctor a couple times a year? Do you hardly ever get sick.  If this is the case it may be wise to go for the higher deductibles for the benefit of lower premiums.  

Avoid Maintenance Drugs when possible:

In this day in age who really cares about you?  Most people usually only look out for themselves.  I read a statistic the other day mentioning that 95% of drugs sold are "Maintenance Drugs".  These are drugs meant to help with your symptoms, not with the illness itself.  For an example, Zoloft is a maintenance drug used to help with the symptoms of depression.  Is the depression gone forever once you take the drug?  No way, and to make matters worse, if you run out of pills on the spot and cannot get another bottle, you may find yourself nearly suicidal.  Growing up, I always remembered my physician helping me cure my health problems, not postponing the symptoms of my illness.  So who benefits from maintenance drugs?  I guess the Doctor who charges your visit fee, your health insurance provider who enjoys your monthly premium and let?s not forget the drug companies; they love to fill the orders.  That is the sad truth, everyone we look to for our health needs, seems to not have a problem with our continued use and our uncured illnesses.  Now there are cases where there are absolutely no options for some.  However there are other options for most people using prescribed maintenance drugs.  In some cases these illnesses can be treated and cured by simply setting up a routine involving exercise and diet.  Of course following through with a routine is easier said than done, but this is an option worth while.  For anybody taking an anti-depressant, heart-burn medication or any other maintenance drug I encourage you to take the first step.  Next time you visit with your Doctor, who is probably really happy to see you, say this, "Look Doctor, is there anything I can do to escape this illness, I no longer want to rely on these pills and I believe there is a way?  If there is nothing you can do to help, Is there someone you can refer me to?".  Hopefully your Doctor will be on your side with the idea of setting up a plan.  There are many benefits to your success including lower prescription costs, lower health insurance rates and lets not forget, a healthier you.