Be proactive in curbing health care costs

by Center for Personal Finance editors

INDIANAPOLIS (8/10/06)--Health insurance premiums are expected to increase another 10% next year, on top of double-digit or near double-digit increases for the past several years. These escalating costs mean we all need to take steps to help ourselves and our wallet (The Indianapolis Star Aug. 1).

It's no secret that adopting healthier lifestyles, losing weight, tossing the cigarettes, participating in wellness programs, and taking advantage of screening programs can help prevent illness--or at least catch illnesses early to help contain treatment costs.

Health savings accounts--available to some employees as an alternative to traditional insurance--allow participants to manage their own health-care dollars.

These plans allow you to use tax-free savings for current or future medical costs, choose your own doctors, and shop around for the best deal�while receiving tax breaks at the same time.

And don't neglect the Internet. A wealth of information is available with the click of a mouse. The Medical Library Association (mlanet.org) recommends these websites (listed alphabetically, not ranked) as particularly useful if you want to do your own health-care homework online:

Cancer.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cdc.gov familydoctor.org healthfinder® healthfinder.gov HIV InSite hivinsite.ucsf.edu/ Kidshealth® kidshealth.org Mayo Clinic mayoclinic.com MEDEM: an information partnership of medical societies medem.com MEDLINEplus (English/Spanish) medlineplus.gov NOAH: New York Online Access to Health noah-health.org

For more information, read "Health Savings Accounts: First Aid for Health-Care Bills" in the Home & Family Finance Resource Center money savvy section.