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At one time, only a few such as the self employed really hadto know much about selecting medical insurance because formany years, the majority of the working population wasworking in "employee" status and Medical Insurance was acompany benefit, and one that had very few choices involved.

Today that benefit is either disappearing or being offeredwith choices ranging from family plan to PPO to HMO to noparticipation; choices also include the amount of payrolldeduction based on plan choice, and it's a complex situationto decide.. does one opt for the plan with a $500person/$1000 max deductible which has virtually no payrolldeduction, or the plan with the $250/500 but with a $25 permonth deduction. Of course those figures are arbitrary forthe purpose of the article and cited only as examples.

But there are choices that can and need to be made.. infact, some times those choices now come down to "where can Iget my own insurance... period?" as so many companies haveeither layed people off or cut the Medical Benefit entirely.

Let's say you are one of those people.. hopefully not, butwe need to cut to the chase.

The first thing to see is if a spouse is working, isinsurance offered from their employer? Possibly they werenot on a family plan, but this is now required.

Usually even with an employer requiring a contribution, aemployer provided plan is less costly than going out 100%percent on your own. This should really be checked out.Employer group rates are generally less than an individualgetting their own insurance.

But let's say this does not apply. But the principle of bulkor group purchasing does. Your next step is to see if thereis a group that you can join that offers group rates. Ifyou are self employed or have your own business, chances arethat your business or profession may have a professional ortrade organization that offers Medical Insurance through thegroup.

The writer of this article resides in Pittsburgh, Pa wherehe has been involved quite indirectly in the constructionindustry. When we say "quite indirectly" we are talkingabout being in sales and having a sales business whichprovides pumps and equipment to contractors. Because ofthat association, the writer qualified for membership in thelocal Builder's Association which had pooled its manymembers to obtain group rates. This is cited in this articlebecause you as a reader may not have an apparent directconnection to a group, but you might qualify through anassociation as the writer has done. If you need to provideyour own medical insurance, by all means check this out.

Are, or were you involved in federal or military service?You may find a group association here.. try your VFW, yourTROA, your American Legion. One company that advertises forthe self employed is NASE. I've never checked them out, butI do hear advertising.

So let's assume you have found a supplier, regardless ofyour status. Most suppliers offer a choice of programsranging from HMO to PPO. What may seem to be the best dealmay not be so at all because of length of time to coverage.

BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ON THE PRE-EXISTING CLAUSES. Even if youconsider yourself healthy and not under treatment, if youhad a past work related physical or other physical and acondition was noted as detected.. but you felt it was notworth pursuing treatment for, and in fact, you are nothaving a treatment or medication... if it's on the recordSOMEwhere and you subsequently have a claim... if it'srelated to the diagnosis, not only could that claim bedenied, but your entire policy voided under the provisionsof fraudulent application if you did NOT state a pre-existing condition.

Yes, insurance companies want your money and to have you asa client, but they are there as profit makers first, and ifthey can find a way to NOT pay you that they are legallyentitled to... you won't get a claim paid. You MUST haveeverything in writing including any exceptions to aprecondition. Better to be turned down up front thancanceled when you need them.

Lastly, if you can not get or pay for insurance, but have afamily with minor children: Many states have programs thatwill insure your minor children at no or nominal fees. Thesestate programs will not necessarily seek you out and signyou up.. you need to do your research. Do not hesitate tocall your county health association or your state insurancecommissioner. Someone will know.

We hope that this article, and the fact you probably foundit on the Internet will help. Be sure and use Internet toolsand search engines and you'll probably find more resourcesthan you ever thought existed. Search terms such as"discounted medical insurance" or disease/condition specificinsurance will yield results. don't spend another dayunprotected.