Cheap Medical Insurance and Cheap Health Insurance Depend on Timely Wellness Check-ups Posted: January 4th, 2010

The hunt for cheap medical insurance is on as consumers and employers scramble to lock in low rates for the New Year. But many are touting periodic wellness visits as the key to low health insurance.

Cheap Medical Insurance: Wellness Visits and Other Proactive Decisions Can Help Keep Costs Low

An emphasis on preventative care, which highlights the importance of undergoing frequent wellness visits, might result in cheap health insurance.

Cheap Medical Insurance Microcosm: The Building Service Contractors

After examining the Building Service Contractors industry, CleanLink writer Todd Beamon contends that wellness and prevention programs may not only result in relatively cheap health insurance, but can also increase employee morale and productivity.

Add to that a recent media push for lifestyle changes and a removal of the 'going to the doctor' stigma that exists in some socioeconomic levels, and you have a recipe for better coverage at lower rates.

The same CleanLink article cites a study released by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation that paints a picture of the current state of health care:

• Total Employer Cost. Employers spend $537 billion on group health insurance policies annually
• Rising Premiums. Premiums rose an average of 6.1% and the average cost of family coverage totals $12,106
• Out-of-Pocket Costs. Workers now pay an average of $3,281 from their paychecks to cover the cost of family policies
• Slowing Wage Increases. Wages among the companies surveyed rose only 3.7% last year
• The Big Picture. More than 158 million people rely on employer-sponsored health insurance

Work Site Clinic and Health Care Coaches? What's New in 2010 and Beyond

Picture this: a cafeteria at your office that features a healthy menu on certain days of the week, or how about a mobile clinical lab that comes to your job site and offers free cholesterol tests and cardiovascular stress tests.

Marcia Heroux Pounds, reporter for the McClatchy Newspapers, describes other unique trends that can assist in the search for cheap medical insurance:

• Full coverage or low co-payments for preventive screenings and tests
• Greater access to on-site clinics and health coaches
• Health savings accounts linked to high-deductible insurance plans
• Increased emphasis on improving personal health through financial incentives

Whether or not this game plan results in cheap medical insurance remains to be seen. If employers jump on board, the result should be lower costs to be shared by more and healthier individuals.

Kelly Richardson