If you are looking for a lower co pay, there are many ways to go about it. Health insurance policies are designed to give you either a flat co pay or a percentage of the total bill. When you understand your policy and the various plan types, you may be able to lower your co payment.

On doctor's visits, you need to consider who you are visiting. If you have an HMO, you need to make sure that you are visiting your primary care physician for everything. If you go to the hospital, an urgent care facility or anywhere else, you could be paying triple or quadruple what your co pay could be if you went to the right doctor.

Your plan will tell you who you should see, which will dictate your co pay. Even PPOs still want you to see doctors in your network - otherwise you won't be paying the lower co pay that you could be. Understanding your plan is the best way to paying less when you need to visit a doctor.

As for prescriptions, there are two kinds: brand name and generic. What you pay is usually based on this factor. If your doctor writes you a prescription for a brand name, ask them to write it for a generic instead. You will pay a lower co pay at the pharmacy when you get it filled, allowing you to save a little money.

There are plenty of different health insurance policies available, so when you know what yours offers, you will have more flexibility to save money. The company that you use may offer HMOs, PPOs and even HSAs. The co pay for each one could be very different, so you may want to look into what each one is because a quick switch could also reduce your co payments immediately.

The co payment is the only part of healthcare that you have to pay out of pocket when you have health insurance, in most cases. This can save you a lot of money in the long run, especially when you look at the bill that gets sent to your insurance company after visiting the doctor.

When you pay a monthly payment and a co pay, it can become a little expensive, so you want to make sure that they are well balanced. A higher monthly payment should mean a lower co payment and vice versa. If you are not sure if you are getting a good deal, contact an insurance agent and let them do some price comparisons on your behalf. It may be just another way of lowering your co payment and even your monthly premium, too.