Everyone likes to save money and your health insurance is a place where you can find savings. The easiest way to save money with health insurance is to only insure yourself for large, catastrophic medical problems or to increase your deductible in order to decrease your monthly premium. Both of these choices might not be the best health insurance option for everyone because each will increase your out-of-pocket medical expenses for everyday medical care and preventative examinations.

There are a number of tips to keep in mind beyond increasing your out-of-pocket expenses to minimize your health insurance costs while receiving the health insurance coverage you and your family needs.

Here are six things to consider for saving money through your health insurance: Read more…

Hamilton Health Care System and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia have reached an agreement to provide health care services for the University System of Georgia.

The agreement will allow any of the 50,000 employees and retirees of the university system, including those at Dalton State College, to receive care at either Hamilton Medical Center or Murray Medical Center as part of Blue Cross’ preferred provider organization (PPO) network. The agreement will also mean university employees and retirees will have access to more than 200 physicians in the area, according to Blue Cross.

In a statement, Blue Cross said Hamilton placed talks to cover all of Blue Cross’ PPO customers on hold on July 14. But Hamilton and Physicians Health Services, which represents almost all of the area’s doctors, say they will begin negotiations next month with Blue Cross and other major health insurance companies that may bring the hospitals and local doctors into those companies’ PPO networks.

“We are planning to start having language discussions, contract language discussions next month,” said David McCreery, president of Physicians Health Services. “That is the first step. Depending on how quickly they are willing to move on that, we are ready to proceed with at least the four major players in the marketplace.” Read more…