There are a few rays of good news, however. If you have been denied health insurance because you have a pre-existing condition or if you have a medical condition which makes your insurance overly expensive, the state of Arkansas has a special insurance program known as CHIP, or the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool.

This program is not based on income; anyone with a pre-existing medical condition may be able to qualify. To find out if you qualify go to: http://www.chiparkansas.org

The rest of us still need to compare low cost health insurance so that we can find a decent policy at a price we can afford. Fortunately there are several things we can do to keep the cost of health insurance affordable.

Start with your copay. This is the percentage of each doctor's office visit and other health costs that you will pay out of your own pocket. If you can afford to increase your copay from 25% to 50% you will greatly reduce the cost of your health insurance. Of course, a strategy such as this really works best for people who do not routinely see their doctor.

Smoking will also cause your health insurance premiums to skyrocket. If you smoke ? stop. The money you save will be substantial.

We all know how terribly difficult it can be to lose weight, but let's face it, being overweight is not healthy. If you are overweight you are going to pay more for health insurance. Losing even a little weight just might put you into a lower category and save you money each and every month. As hard as it is to do, losing weight can save you money.

The last thing you can do is to modify your deductible. This is the amount of money you agree to pay for your health care before you ask your insurance company to pay anything. The more you are willing to pay ? in other words, the higher your deductible ? then the less your insurance company is going to charge you for your health insurance each month.

So you've decided on a reasonable copay, you've made your decision regarding smoking and any weight issues, you've increased your deductible as much as you can afford to pay ? so now it's time to jump online and find several of those sites that allow you to make instant side-by-side comparisons between insurance companies.

Don't think that you can get by just making comparisons on one site. No site compares more than a small handful of companies. If you want to make sure that you are comparing all of the health insurance sites in Arkansas you'll have to take the time to fill out the form on at least 3 of the comparison websites.

It's extra time and extra work to fill out the form on multiple sites, but the end result is that you will really and truly compare low coast health insurance in Arkansas and at the end of the day you'll be able to sleep soundly knowing that you have found the very best policy for you at the very best price possible.