The primary thing that you can do to make sure that you get the best price for your medical care insurance policy isn't to shop around or to select the right plan. The number one thing is to stay healthy. If you no longer meet the health qualifications for a policy with a good rate, the other important things become moot.

Your present health care insurance company cannot cancel your health plan simply because your health took a turn for the worse after you applied. However, chances are, you will need another medical care insurance policy at some point in the future. If you do and if that policy is underwritten the will look at your state of health and medical history very carefully before they decide whether or not to insure you.

Every health insurance company has price increases, but not all the price increases are equal. The medical policy you have currently may have a larger percentage increase than the health plan of another carrier. At some point you may want to switch to a cheaper medical care insurance policy, but may not be able to because of your health.

From time to time insurance companies will retire certain policy series to new clients. With no new healthy clients coming in to offset the older clients who are starting to develop medical problems, these retired policies go up in price faster than policies open to new clients.

Those clients who want to buy another insurance policy that is experience less steep price increases will need to be healthy in order to switch to a new policy.

The second most important thing is to shop around. You can compare policies from various carriers by visiting multiple health care insurance websites or you can find one that works with all or most of the health care insurance carriers in your area.

When shopping around, the financial rating of an insurance company is more important than whether or not the company is a brand name. Many of the well-known carriers are excellent, however, you shouldn't rule out lesser known carriers that are financially stable and if they offer good policies and have a network of doctors and hospitals that will serve you well.

Very often there is a major difference in price for similar policies offered by various carriers. Some of the cost difference may have to do with the method they use to calculate their rates. For example a company that charges a flat rate for families may offer a better rate to a large family than a health insurance company that charges more for each person. In many instances a difference in cost is not caused by a difference in how well they will cover you.

The third most important thing is to understand how each policy works so that you can compare them. You should know what a deductible is and what deductible each insurance policy has. You should also know if there are co-pays or coinsurance and how each works with each policy.

You should know the major parts of a policy, you cannot compare them well. Also it is important that you consider moderate deductible and possibly high deductible plans. Often these policies are priced low enough that it makes sense to pay the higher deductible.

Do what you can to stay healthy. This can mean lower premiums if you ever need to purchase another medical care insurance policy. Compare various insurance options either by looking at different options on your own or by working with a broker who will check your rates with different carriers. Make sure you understand how your policy works before you buy it. These three things may help you significantly reduce your costs health care and medical insurance.