Ever wonder why you can't seem to find any real bargains when looking for health insurance or why similar plans don't differ that much in price from company to company? You are not alone.

Remember though, that health insurance premiums reflect the cost of health care. What you pay at the doctor's office, the hospital, or at the pharmacy remains about the same regardless of which insurance company you have. Some insurance companies do negotiate discounts with certain medical providers and may be able to save you money that way.

This option is now under a handicap. With a shortage of physicians and other medical facilities particularly in rural areas of the state, it is more difficult for insurance companies to negotiate significant discounts. The insurance company's promise of more patients in return for a discount loses its value for the physician when he has more patients than he can handle already.

The one advantage you may have is age. Insurance premiums are based on age because it reflects the fact that we tend to wear out over time and need more tune-ups and repair work. Insurance companies usually change premiums at 5-year age intervals. If a company's claims experience for a given age group is pretty good, they may have a lower price than a competitor who doesn't.

You may also be able to use age to your advantage if you are covering a spouse and the age difference between the two of you places you in different 5-year age groups. Separate policies, maybe even from different insurance companies, might save you some money. Always place any children with the youngest spouse. Remember though, if you are covering children, this option could increase the number of deductibles you have to meet by one.

Beware of any plan that offers significantly lower prices than what you find on this site. There usually is a catch. Since medical costs are about the same, you could end up making up the difference out of your pocket. It may be a hospital-accident policy rather than the major medical policies we offer here. They often sound good, promising to pay 100% of hospital room and board.

Read the fine print and know what medical care costs in your area. This promise may only be good for up to $500 per day. Even this sounds good until you call your local hospital and find out that they charge more than that for room and board. If they currently charge $650, it will cost you $150 per day out of your pocket. What happens in 3 years when the hospital charges $800 and your policy still says 100% to $500 per day?

Or, what about the $100,000 limit on chemotherapy. Sounds like a lot of money until you find out weekly treatments can cost over $3,000 each. How many $3,000 treatments can you afford if you run out of benefit or if you fail to add this optional benefit to your policy in the first place?

These policies may be okay for you, but just be sure you know what you are buying. We would rather see you buy a higher deductible major medical policy where the insurance company assumes large risks than an inexpensive policy that could expose you to an unknown amount of risk. There are times, however, where one of these policies may be appropriate. It may be a good choice if you can't afford anything else, and something is certainly better than nothing. It may be worth considering if you can't qualify for an individual policy because of health reasons, and there is not a state high-risk pool or there is, but the price is out of your reach.

If we wouldn't buy it ourselves, you won't find it on this website.