While there is no way to eliminate the cost of health insurance completely there are several things the average person can do that will lower the cost of their health insurance - sometimes substantially.

If you can make even just one of the following suggestions work for you, then it is possible that you could save hundreds of dollars each year on your health insurance cost.

Let's start with something really basic: maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Stop eating junk food and fast food, especially fried fast food. If you can't force yourself to stop completely cut back to once or at the most twice each week.

Get a little exercise. You don't need to join a gym or buy the latest fad from an infomercial. Walking or biking is a great way to burn a few calories and get your heart pumping.

Now for the really hard part - if you are truly serious about finding affordable health care in West Virginia then you can't smoke or use any tobacco product. No chew, no cigars, and definitely no cigarettes.

If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is too high you'll also pay more for your health insurance. Sorry - but it's a fact of life. The good news is that often if you can shed just a few pounds you can drop down a notch on your insurance company's BMI chart and that could potentially save you hundreds of dollars a year on your health insurance.

Look for group health insurance. If you can find group health insurance your smoking and your weight might not be quite as important. If your place of employment doesn't offer group health insurance ask around at any clubs or organizations or association that you belong to. Ask all of your relatives and friends if they belong to any clubs or groups that offer their members low cost group health insurance.

If you run your own business, even a simple home-based business that just employs your spouse, you may qualify for group insurance rates. In any event talk to your tax advisor and see if a portion of your monthly premium can be tax deductible - a tax savings could be just what you need to make your health insurance more affordable.

Pay your monthly premiums automatically out of your checking account.

Join an HMO or a PPO. While HMOs and PPOs offer more affordable health insurance they don't allow you to see just any doctor. If your current doctor is not a member of the HMO or the PPO then you may have to switch doctors in order to get the best savings.

Can you increase your co-pay? If you can afford a 50% co-payment each time you visit your doctor then you can reduce the cost of your health insurance by a nice amount. This is an especially good way for people who do not see their doctor on a regular basis to save money.

What about your deductible? Raising your deductible will instantly lower the cost of your health insurance - but don't go overboard. Remember, each year you will have to pay your deductible in cash before your insurance company will pay for any of your medical expenses. You do not want to agree to pay more for your health needs than you can actually afford to pay.

Buy your health insurance online. You can almost always find lower prices online. However, if you really want to find the most affordable health insurance in West Virginia you can't stop at just one price comparison website. You need to take the time to compare prices on a minimum of 3 different sites.

And you need to enter the exact same information into the form on all 3 sites so that you are comparing the same health insurance policy. Once you've done that the rest is simple. Just review your results and choose the lowest-price policy you find. You are now an expert at finding affordable health insurance in West Virginia.