Health insurance has grown costly in this country – so costly that many people are doing whatever they can to avoid getting it altogether. With families struggling to make rent money, buying health insurance often seems like an unnecessary option, especially when people are in good health. Yet it is vital that you find a way to get health insurance, because without it you may find yourself with some serious problems.
Why Get Health Insurance
• Emergencies
The most important reason to get health insurance is that you need to be covered in the event of an emergency. True emergencies are rare events, but the costs of them are astronomical. It can cost $4,000 for a CT scan alone, and if you add in surgeries, the total price is well into the five digit range. There are even some reports of individuals being charged more than $100,000 for their uninsured medical visits. Even a minor injury that needs immediate medical care can run you about $10,000, and that is if there are not many tests needed to determine the issue.
• Non-Emergency Emergencies
It’s not just the emergencies where you need health insurance. You also need to be able to go to the doctor any time you are concerned about your health in order to ensure that everything is okay. Some estimates put the number of people that die as a result of not having health insurance as high as 50,000. It is not because they could not get treatment. It is because they didn’t go to the doctor when they normally would have because of the high fees. You may go to the doctor and find that your emergency was not a real emergency, but at least you found out that you are okay.
• ER Basic Visits
It’s also not uncommon for people without insurance to go to the ER whenever they’re concerned about their health. The ER must treat everyone, regardless of insurance, which is why those without insurance may go to the ER for something as simple as the common cold. Yet these visits require extensive wait times because of the high number of people that need to utilize this non-insurance route. Those wait times extend to those that have real emergencies, and by utilizing this method, you not only still receive a very expensive bill – you also may be harming the health of someone else.
Get Healthcare, Go to the Doctor
There are people that go for years without utilizing their health insurance, and when that occurs it often feels like all that money spent on insurance was wasted. But the reality is that the costs of medical care are so high, that one small emergency can completely bankrupt even mildly wealthy families, and one doctor’s visit for a non-emergency can cost as much as health insurance costs for 3 or more years. You need to make sure you are willing and able to go the doctor as needed, which is why it is crucial that you find a great rate for health insurance and make all of your payments regularly.