Savvy Consumer: Save on Health Insurance

Sept. 22, 2006 — -- Wal-Mart made a splash this week when it announced that it would make nearly 300 generic drugs available to customers for $4 for a 30-day supply.

Wal-Mart is launching the program in Florida and plans to roll it out nationwide. Because Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer, the move could have profound effects on the cost of medications and consumers' views of generic drugs.

Wal-Mart's offer is open to people with health insurance and without. That got me thinking about the 45 million Americans who don't have health care coverage. What are some of the ways those folks can save?

Have you ever wondered how health insurance came to be an employee benefit? What's the connection? It's not like that in most other countries.

Turns out, it's an accident of history. During World War II, workers were scarce and companies had become cash-poor because of the Great Depression.

Since companies couldn't afford to pay high wages, they began to offer fringe benefits to attract workers. Group health insurance was one of those benefits. Since this benefit came about as such a fluke, it could just as easily disappear. If you lose your company health benefits, you'll want to be ready. If you never had company health insurance benefits in the first place, there are strategies to keep costs down.

If you lose your benefits because you've lost your job, it's simple. Thanks to the Congressional Budget Reconciliation Act, or Cobra, you can buy in to your previous employer's group health insurance plan for up to 18 months. You'll have to pay the full premium.

You are eligible for the Cobra plan if you leave a company and become unemployed or self-employed; if you are under 23 years old and your parent leaves a company; if you are the divorced spouse of an employee who worked at the company for at least three years; or if you are the survivor of an employee who worked at the company for at least three years.

The Cobra plan benefits you in several scenarios: if you leave a company and become unemployed or self-employed; if you are under 23 years old and your parent leaves a company; if you are the divorced spouse of an employee who worked at the company for at least three years; or if you are the survivor of an employee who worked at the company for at least three years.