To compare health insurance rates is a good way of finding affordable health insurance. If the whole truth would however be told, it would show that there are more issues that affect your rates before the issue of shopping around.
The truth is that the very first thing that would seriously affect the rates you pay is the state of your health. Healthy people have more chances of getting lower rates than others. If your health situation can not be helped, then you can move on to finding the best rate you can for your situation.