With the rising cost of health insurance premiums, everyone is looking for ways to make their health insurance policy more affordable. Many people are asking why insurance is so expensive and what can be done to make it more affordable. Following are a few explanations and tips to help you better understand why your health insurance policy has such high insurance premiums.

Typically, health insurance policies with low deductibles and co-pays have high premiums. You pay more monthly for the health coverage so that you pay less in the event you need to use your insurance. If you have small children, a large family or certain health conditions, the lower co-pays and deductibles are often worth the higher premiums because you may make frequent doctor office visits or have surgeries or other necessary medical treatments that could become very expensive.

Most insurance policies pay for certain routine office visits with just your required office visit copay. After that, if lab work, x-rays or other medical services are needed, you pay the majority of these fees until you have met your deductible then the coinsurance rates take over. Usually the split for these is 70/30 or 80/20. After you have reached your out of pocket maximum for the year, the insurance covers 100 percent of the medical expenses up to your lifetime maximum. Understanding how this works helps you understand why you may have high insurance premiums. A policy that has a very low deductible and out of pocket maximum will cost considerably more than one with a high deductible or out of pocket maximum because the insurance company will end up paying for a larger portion of your medical expenses.

If you do not have children or rarely go to the doctor, you may find that a policy with higher deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance and out of pocket maximums works well. This type of policy allows you to save money monthly, and in the event of a medical emergency, you may be responsible for a larger portion of the bill, but you will not have spent as much each month on the policy. If you make frequent doctor visits, the high insurance premiums may be well worth it. They can pay for themselves quickly when you have a sick child, medical emergency or chronic health condition.

There is a wide range of health insurance policy types available with a variety of combinations of these main elements to choose from. High insurance premiums typically provide you with a policy that requires you to spend less in the event of a medical emergency. You need to determine your comfort level and choose an affordable health insurance policy that gives you peace of mind.