Protecting Your Financial Well-Being With Health Insurance
[10/31/07]
According to a study published in the Journal of Health Affairs, half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical debt after an illness or injury to an individual or the individual’s loved one.
A serious illness or injury can affect you or a loved one at any time, without warning. Millions of Americans experience it every year and many are forced into bankruptcy because of it. Since you can’t always avoid what may happen to you or your family in the future, it is important to ensure that you are as ready for and protected against the unexpected as possible. This includes purchasing and keeping up the payments on a family health insurance plan.
Health insurance is “bottom of the list” for many people, and for good reason. After all, today’s priorities, such as housing and food, have to come before everything else. If you are barely getting by with only the basics, then there really may be no way for you to pay premiums on a health insurance plan every month. On the other hand, if you are also spending money on “extras” or have areas where you can cut back, then you should consider putting health insurance right under the basics on your priority list. Having this protection may save you and your family from hardship down the road.
If you or a family member encounters a serious illness or injury, your medical bills can rack up into the tens of thousands (and possibly the hundreds of thousands) within no time. Each night in the hospital, each meal, every bandage or dose of medicine, they all add up. Not to mention if you have to have any kind of surgery on top of it all. Medical insurance can be a lifesaver in these situations because, although there may still be some kind of co-pay, you may only have to worry about 20% of the bill, rather than 100% of it. 20% may be a manageable amount of debt for you to get out of relatively quickly, while 100% could mean inevitable bankruptcy.
Although bankruptcy would save you from this debt, it would also haunt you for at least the next 7 years. Every time you needed a loan or wanted to apply for a credit card, you would be reminded of the decision that you had to make in the form of a denial. Even though we hate to admit it, there are certain times that credit is a vital part of living in today’s world and you want a bankruptcy-free credit report when those times pop up.
The cost of health insurance does not have to be great. You can get a reasonable family plan with a $1000-$2500 deductible and a 20%-30% co-pay for the cost of your cable bill and cell phone plan each month. Skipping that latte today or reducing your cell phone plan can mean a brighter future for your family tomorrow. The security of having such a plan in place and knowing that your family is protected is worth at least that much.
A serious illness or injury can affect you or a loved one at any time, without warning. Millions of Americans experience it every year and many are forced into bankruptcy because of it. Since you can’t always avoid what may happen to you or your family in the future, it is important to ensure that you are as ready for and protected against the unexpected as possible. This includes purchasing and keeping up the payments on a family health insurance plan.
Health insurance is “bottom of the list” for many people, and for good reason. After all, today’s priorities, such as housing and food, have to come before everything else. If you are barely getting by with only the basics, then there really may be no way for you to pay premiums on a health insurance plan every month. On the other hand, if you are also spending money on “extras” or have areas where you can cut back, then you should consider putting health insurance right under the basics on your priority list. Having this protection may save you and your family from hardship down the road.
If you or a family member encounters a serious illness or injury, your medical bills can rack up into the tens of thousands (and possibly the hundreds of thousands) within no time. Each night in the hospital, each meal, every bandage or dose of medicine, they all add up. Not to mention if you have to have any kind of surgery on top of it all. Medical insurance can be a lifesaver in these situations because, although there may still be some kind of co-pay, you may only have to worry about 20% of the bill, rather than 100% of it. 20% may be a manageable amount of debt for you to get out of relatively quickly, while 100% could mean inevitable bankruptcy.
Although bankruptcy would save you from this debt, it would also haunt you for at least the next 7 years. Every time you needed a loan or wanted to apply for a credit card, you would be reminded of the decision that you had to make in the form of a denial. Even though we hate to admit it, there are certain times that credit is a vital part of living in today’s world and you want a bankruptcy-free credit report when those times pop up.
The cost of health insurance does not have to be great. You can get a reasonable family plan with a $1000-$2500 deductible and a 20%-30% co-pay for the cost of your cable bill and cell phone plan each month. Skipping that latte today or reducing your cell phone plan can mean a brighter future for your family tomorrow. The security of having such a plan in place and knowing that your family is protected is worth at least that much.
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