Contrary to popular belief, healthcare costs are steadily increasing every year. If you’re young, you may think to yourself that because you’ve been able to cover your healthcare/medical expenses thus far, it will always be that way. However, that certainly isn’t the case.
Especially during unforeseen circumstances (like a worldwide pandemic), you may find yourself unemployed and having to choose between buying groceries and seeking medical treatment. Today, we will be exploring the top reason why health insurance is essential.
Fight Inflation
Getting health insurance is a strategic way to fight medical inflation. The cost of medical procedures increases every year. Therefore, health insurance can help you keep more money in your pocket to offset those costs. Health insurance should not even need discussion since 54% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We cannot afford the cost of ruin as we might think. Failing to plan is planning to fail. The best way to protect your future is to prepare for it now.
Protect Your Family
Getting health insurance may be one of the simplest ways to protect your family. Assuming every person in your family will live a long and healthy life is a sweet but foolish thought. We hear stories about families across the globe struggling to make ends meet because one family member got sick and could no longer provide for their family. We cannot predict when hard times will be upon us; we can only guarantee that day is coming. By investing in health insurance, you can be confident that you will get the best medical care possible for you or your loved one when the time comes.
Protect Your Dreams
Imagine living through the past 24 months without health insurance.
Can you imagine just how cautious you’d need to be to ensure you didn’t get sick and have to seek medical attention?
When you don’t have health insurance, you have to live your life within certain limits. You’ll need to think twice about every dream you have.
Have a dream of running a marathon? You may need to think twice.
According to Yale Medicine, about 65% of regular runners get hurt each year. If you get injured, that could potentially put you into financial ruin.
Don’t believe me?
According to PYMNTS and Lending Club, 54% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
>>More: How To Get Health Insurance Without A Job | How Does Health Insurance Work? | Why Is Health Insurance So Expensive | I Can’t Afford Health Insurance. What Do I Do?
Have a dream of retiring and traveling the world?
If you don’t have health insurance, you may not be able to travel the world with peace of mind because getting injured could turn your life upside down. When you get injured in a different country, the cost of seeking medical attention could be significantly higher than in your home country. When we get older, our health needs more care and attention than our youth. Health insurance will ensure that you have the accessibility you need to thrive.
Have a dream of going on a motorcycle trip across the USA?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a total of 5,014 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2019.
Without your health, you cannot enjoy all the great things life has to offer us. Worrying about your health takes away from the present moment. What is happiness without peace of mind?
Protect Your Livelihood
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, In July of 2020, 31.3 million people reported that they were unable to work at some point in the last four weeks. This number was down from 40.4 million in June 2020 and 49.8 million in May 2020.
Being unable to work due to illness can cause significant financial strain. Having health insurance will help you build an economic wall around yourself so no sickness or disease can get through and destroy your livelihood.
Live Life Fully
Having health insurance allows you to be present and live your life fully. If you are constantly living in fear of what may happen in the future, you’re alive, but you aren’t living.
To live life to the fullest, you need growth and progression. Without taking risks, you can’t learn and grow. If you cannot learn and grow, you can’t be happy, and if you can’t be satisfied, what else is there?
How Does Health Insurance Work?
When you have health insurance, when you go to the doctor or hospital and receive a medical bill, it will first go through your insurance plan. Afterward, you will be required to pay a portion of that bill out of pocket.
Managed insurance plans list designated healthcare providers that direct policyholders to receive the most coverage. However, if a policyholder chooses to seek medical attention from healthcare providers who are not on that list, they may have to pay more out of pocket. Sometimes insurance companies will refuse to pay for services obtained outside of the list of designated healthcare providers.
Several managed care plans such as point-of-service plans (POS) and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) require a primary care physician who oversees a patient’s health, provides treatments and referrals for specialists when needed.
However, Preferred-provider organizations (PPOs) don’t require you to have a primary care physician, but they do have lower costs for services provided by in-network practitioners.
In some ways, health insurance is similar to car insurance. However, health insurance covers both high and smaller routine costs such as yearly physicals, vaccinations, and other routine medical procedures.
Important To Remember
Insurance companies reserve the right o deny coverage of particular services performed without preauthorization. Additionally, insurers can refuse to pay for brand-name versions of drugs if a generic version is available at a lower cost. These specific rules are stated in the material the insurer gives to you. However, they are often overlooked. Therefore, it is essential to read health insurance policies in their entirety to ensure that you don’t lose money on a technicality.
When Is The Right Time To Get Health Insurance?
The best time to get health insurance is when you’re young and healthy. By doing so, you are seen as a lower risk to insurance companies and will, in turn, get lower premiums.
Who Needs Health Insurance?
Everyone. No single person is immune to the ailments life can throw at us. Health insurance helps offset the cost of both minor and major medical issues that can arise throughout our lifetime.
How Do You Get Health Insurance?
Health insurance may be part of an employee benefits package, in which case you can get it through your work. However, you can also purchase health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Interesting Fact
Did you know that high medical bills are one of the top reasons Americans consider making withdrawals out of their retirement accounts or even filing for bankruptcy?
Article Sources
- https://www.sbis.ca/health-insurance-article-why-do-i-need-health-insurance.html#:~:text=With%20healthcare%20costs%20steadily%20rising,t%20have%20adequate%20insurance%20coverage.&text=Without%20health%20insurance%2C%20you%20could,or%20paying%20for%20household%20expenses!
- https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/why-is-health-insurance-important
- https://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/resources/learning-centre/insure/importance-of-health-insurance-and-why-do-you-need-it
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/10/americans-are-drowning-in-medical-debt-what-to-know-if-you-need-help.html
- https://www.coveredca.com/marketing-blog/why-health-insurance-might-be-more-important-than-you-think/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/healthinsurance.asp
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/720767/medical-cost-trend-in-us/
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