Health insurance is a major expense for most households.

Here are some ideas to help reduce your costs.

Add people to your plan

Insurance policies tend to apply discounts to additional members covered under the same policy. This has long been beneficial for married couples and their young children. However, laws have changed in recent years, and you can now include domestic partners and adult children on your plan.

Compare policies with different primary insured persons

If you and your partner are both eligible for policies through work, take the time to thoroughly compare what each plan offers. You can also do this with privately obtained policies to see if you get a better deal with one person as the primary over the other.

Work with a broker

We think that cutting out the middleman saves money, but navigating insurance is complex. No matter how many hours you spend poring over your computer, a broker can probably come up with a discount that is not familiar to you.

Check for subsidies

You may be eligible to partially fund your health insurance policy with a government subsidy. These subsidies are not loans, and do not need to be paid back. Online health insurance calculators can account for a variety of factors and help you determine if you may qualify.

Review medical bills for errors

Medical billing errors are quite common. Take the time to go over medical bills you receive and question any items that seem incorrect. While there may be nothing wrong, it is better to ask. It’s possible that you may catch items that should have been covered by your insurance but have been billed to you.

Ask about discounts

Ask your insurance company if there’s anything you can do to lower your costs. Recently, it’s become popular to offer a reduced rate to customers who use a fitness tracker to log a certain number of steps each day.

Speak with your insurance broker to determine what options are best for you.