My health insurance premium increased by about 25% this year. I’ve heard of increasing premiums, but this seemed a little bit excessive. I tried calling my health insurance provider for an explanation, but in addition to “the run-around”, the only answer that I really got was that my insurance premium was increasing due to the increasing costs of operations and providing health insurance coverage to subscribers.

Is it time for me to start shopping for a new health insurance provider? I don’t know if I can continue to keep paying these high premiums, and next year when my policy renews, will I be in for the same type of increase?

The only thing that helps me justify the high cost of my health insurance premium is the fact that health insurance and medical expenses are tax deductible. Not that being able to write-off my health insurance cost actually justifies the high price, it really only gives me an excuse to keep paying for it.