In fact, according to figures released by the Oregon Department of Insurance, almost half of all citizens of Oregon find health care costs a financial burden and fully one quarter of all adults in Oregon report spending up to twenty-five percent of their monthly income on health care.

Clearly for the majority of people something has to be done to bring down the cost of staying well.

The most formidable weapon at the consumer's disposal is knowledge. Become knowledgeable about health care and your health care choices. Go online and compare policies and prices – the difference in cost for the same basic policy from one company to another can be truly staggering.

Before going online sit down and figure out what you and your family need out of a health care plan. What is important to you – and what isn't? Are doctor's visits more important than hospital stays? Are prescriptions more important than visits to the emergency room? Do you need a policy that covers you when you travel? Do you have a new baby – or are you expecting one in the next year?

Write your answers down on a piece of paper and play around with them when filling out your online comparison forms. Remember, when you are looking for low cost health insurance here in Oregon there are bound to be trade-offs. Don't expect to find the perfect policy – unless you can afford a high premium or your needs are simple.

And of course the main trade-off that many people use to create an acceptable health policy at a price they can afford is their deductible. This is money you have to pay from your own sources for your health care needs before your insurance begins to pay. The greater your deductible the lower your monthly insurance premium.

Health insurance is costly, there's no getting around that – but if you spend some time online and ask some tough questions of yourself, the answers you come up with just might make health insurance a lot more affordable than you ever thought possible. The key is to compare low cost health insurance plans side-by-side until you find the one that's right for you.