Here are some facts and tips on individual health insurance to help educate you on the subject so you can make an informed decision next time you shop for insurance.

- Make sure the policy protects you from large medical costs.

- Make sure there is a “free look” clause. Most companies give you at least 10 days to lookover your policy after you receive it. If you decide it is not for you, you can return it and have your premium refunded.

- Beware of single disease insurance policies. There are some policies that offer protection for only one disease, such as cancer. If you have health insurance, your regular plan probably already provides all the coverage you need. Check to see what protection you have before buying any more insurance.

- Before purchasing any individual health plan, it is important to verify that the carrier and agent are licensed

- Individual coverage may be purchased as either an indemnity or managed care plan. Indemnity plans are sold exclusively by insurance companies, and will generally cover services from any licensed health provider as long as treatment is consistent with the terms of the policy.

- Typically, managed care plans are more affordable than indemnity plans, but indemnity plans provide members with the most flexibility in obtaining health services. The trade off is essentially choice versus cost.

- Sometimes individual health insurance consumers have the option to pay extra for coverage of additional services like maternity coverage. This extra coverage is referred to as an optional rider. These are usually not covered on the basic individual health insurance plan.

- If the insurance company is unable to obtain information necessary to accurately determine the risk of a particular applicant they will assume negatively.

- Once the company has determined your health status, you will be assigned a rate class by the company and put into a pool of other insured individuals with similar health status. Your premium will be the rate charged to that entire class of customers.

- In some states, you can receive credit against a pre-existing condition waiting period if you have had prior health insurance coverage within a specified number of days. The amount of the credit against the waiting period is generally proportional to the length of the prior coverage.

With the economy the way it is, we all could use a little help finding affordable health care. Here are 10 ways to help you with finding affordable health care.

1. COBRA. First, it is best to start with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). If you’re unemployed you may be eligible to continue your last employers’ health insurance through COBRA. This also applies to young adults going off to college, you also may be able to continue on your parents health insurance coverage through COBRA. This is a very good option for people who may have lost their job and are still undergoing medical treatments.

2. Workers’ Compensation. If you are being treated for any work related injury, your employer must offer you treatment under their Workers’ Compensation program.

3. Medicaid. Don’t automatically think that since you have a job you won’t qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid will pay health care expenses for low-income families and individuals. Each state sets the eligibility requirements so qualifying for the program is dependent on the state.

4. Medicare. Medicare is provided by the government and administered by the Social Security Administration. If you are sixty-five years old or older you would qualify for Medicare. You may also qualify if you are getting Social Security disability benefits.

5. State High Risk Health Insurance Pool. If you are turned down by individual health insurance companies because of pre-existing conditions, your state may have a high risk health insurance pool you can obtain health insurance from.

6. Individual and Family Health Insurance: This is where you just go to an insurance company and buy individual or family health insurance the same way you would by home or auto insurance. Getting a high deductible “emergency” policy is a better way to maintain a low cost health insurance plan and keeping a Health Savings Account for smaller health issues will probably save you money in the long run.

7. Short Term Health Insurance Coverage: This is a great affordable health insurance option for someone in-between jobs or who knows they will be starting a job soon.

8. Group Insurance from Organization Memberships. Some people are members of specific organizations that offer health insurance coverage.  Although these organizations often do not help pay the health insurance premiums like an employer would, the rates would be lower because of the group discount.

9. Group Health Expenses Sharing Plan. This is not insurance but works similar to it. This is when a group of people pool their money together and pay each others’ health expenses… they pretty much become their own insurance company. The contributions are pooled together and usually invested in order to accrue interest on the pooled funds. It works well when there are a lot of people who contribute and everyone is only using the money for major medical expenses. There are religious groups that use this model successfully.

10. Health Insurance Discount Cards. Again, this is also not an insurance plan but can be a good source for getting low cost health services. You pay a small monthly fee for a membership card and when you go to the doctor or hospital you will get a discounted rate on your services