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Health insurance, as most people are aware, is a hot-button topic at the moment. It seems as if every political candidate has a plan to overhaul the health insurance industry. However, until something is actually done about health insurance costs, the best thing you can do is to find ways to save money and get discount health insurance here in South Carolina.

Group health insurance is less expensive than individual health insurance. If your workplace does not offer group health insurance check with any organizations, clubs, or associations you belong to - a surprising number offer group health to their members. Ask friends, neighbors and family if they belong to any clubs, associations or groups which offer inexpensive health insurance - if so, see if you can join.

Religious groups sometimes offer their members group health insurance - ask around.

If you own a home business you may qualify for group health even if your only employee is a spouse. Even if you don't qualify for group health your individual health insurance premiums may be tax deductible, and when your tax savings are calculated in you may find that you can afford health insurance after all.

South Carolina has a special program to provide free health care to thousands of children statewide who would otherwise not be able to afford care. To learn if your child qualifies for this special state-sponsored free insurance go to: http://www.dhhs.state.sc.us

Join an HMO or a PPO. These organizations offer good medical coverage at reasonable rates. However, especially with an HMO, you will restricted to only seeing certain doctors. If your current doctor is not a member you may be forced to find a new doctor.

Don't smoke and don't use chew. People who use tobacco products in any form will not get the deepest discount price for their health insurance.

Unfortunately the same is true for people who are overweight. Your BMI (Body Mass Index) will affect how much you pay for your health insurance. The good news is if you can shed even a few pounds you may slip down a rung on the insurance company's price scale and that could potentially save you hundreds each year on your premiums.

Participating in dangerous or extreme sports will also increase your monthly premiums. So will driving a fast sports car.

Exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle will save you money on your health insurance. Limit your intake of fried foods.

How much is your co-payment every time you visit your doctor? Many people can save money by increasing their co-pay to 50%. Obviously this means you will pay more money out of your own pocket every time you visit your doctor, but you will save money every single month on your premium. If you don't see your doctor often this can be a great trade-off.

If you can afford to increase your deductible you can save money on your monthly premium. Be careful in doing this, however. You will be required to come up with the cash to pay your deductible each year and you should not promise to pay more than you can afford.

The final thing is to go online and shop around for the best policy. Using the tips you have gathered from this article fill out the form on 3 different websites that allow you to compare prices for health insurance. Be careful to put the exact same information into the form on all 3 websites so that your comparison is valid - and then simply choose the best price you can find.

That's all there is to it. You're done. You can now rest easy knowing that you have saved money and gotten discount health insurance in South Carolina and that you will be saving money month after month, year after year.