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Health Insurance Coverage & Five Big Reasons Not To Dawdle
- By Archie Mathys
- Published 02/11/2010
- Local Politics
- Unrated
Archie Mathys
Archie Mathys is a research writer on current events affecting American life. From his home in Reston, he writes interesting but true slices of American life. Currently, he works on reading Kiyosaki, personal finance & the Wall St. news updates. He has a fascination for futurism and enjoys figuring out how things will work out in the future. Life Insurance Quotes Directory - The Life Insurance Quotes For Consumers Blog http://life.insurancequote4consumers.com
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Looking at last week's U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts, the future of health reform legislation is increasingly unclear.
While the debate continues, those who have delayed getting health insurance while waiting for a government solution may be leaving themselves open to unnecessary risk.
Here's a list of five reasons why holding off on health insurance can be risky, and also provided a list of helpful resources for the uninsured.
According to a survey conducted in December 2009 by Opinion Research Corporation, nearly a 25% of respondents said that they would not get health insurance coverage if given the choice between purchasing coverage immediately and waiting for health reform legislation.
Here's The Top Five Reasons to Get Covered Now:
1. Don't even consider Emergency Rooms (ERs) as a fallback plan. According to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), if you're uninsured, ambulances and hospital emergency rooms will provide emergency medical treatment regardless of your ability to pay.
BUT, uninsured persons are still liable to pay a substantial medical bills and could find it difficult to obtain subsequent treatment such as surgery and physical therapy. Because EMTALA addresses patients with emergency medical conditions, it likely does not apply to non-emergency, but possibly threatening, chronic conditions like cancer or heart disease that require attention and costly medical treatments .
2. Health care is more expensive when you didn't take health insurance. Uninsured persons are usually charged full price for medical services, because they don't qualify for the discounts negotiated between medical providers and the insurance companies on behalf of members.
For example, visit to the doctor that may cost an insured person $50 may cost the uninsured twice as much. And health insurance may be more affordable than you think.
In a 2009 survey of 316,000 eHealthInsurance customers, it showed that half of all individual health insurance policy holders who purchased a plan through eHealth paid less than $132 in monthly premiums and half of all family health insurance policy holders paid less than $329 per month.
3. Medical bills is one of the largest causes of bankruptcy. According to a 2009 study, over 60% of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are related to expensive medical bills.
Medical coverage is no guarantee against bankruptcy, but a good health insurance plan can help cover your exposure to the exorbitant medical costs that can arise form an unexpected injury or illness.
4. You make yourself uninsurable. You may be healthy now, but if you are uninsured and diagnosed with a serious medical condition, you will not qualify for coverage when you need it. The best way to preserve your ability to qualify for coverage is to maintain coverage now.
5. Youth offers no protection. People between ages 19 and 29 are more likely to be uninsured than most other groups.
Young adults are also more likely to visit the Emergency Room than any other group. Even a basic individual health insurance plan will limit getting unnecessarily exposed to unexpected medical costs. Individual health insurance plans for adults ages 18-24 can be as low as $100/month, or less.
If you are uninsured and are considering getting health insurance coverage, what are your options?
- Research your health insurance options through an online resource.
- If you've never purchased your own health insurance before, get a quick start by using free online resources like the Health Insurance Quotes Providers Directories
- If you were laid off or are unemployed, talk to your benefits administrator about your rights to COBRA coverage and the availability of the COBRA subsidy.
- If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are unable to afford health insurance, talk to a licensed agent or contact the Foundation for Health Coverage Education to determine what free and low-cost health care options are available to you in your area.
- If you have medical debt or need help understanding your rights, review the Families USA's consumer guide: Your Medical Bills: A Consumer's Guide to Coping with Medical Debt.
While the debate continues, those who have delayed getting health insurance while waiting for a government solution may be leaving themselves open to unnecessary risk.
Here's a list of five reasons why holding off on health insurance can be risky, and also provided a list of helpful resources for the uninsured.
According to a survey conducted in December 2009 by Opinion Research Corporation, nearly a 25% of respondents said that they would not get health insurance coverage if given the choice between purchasing coverage immediately and waiting for health reform legislation.
Here's The Top Five Reasons to Get Covered Now:
1. Don't even consider Emergency Rooms (ERs) as a fallback plan. According to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), if you're uninsured, ambulances and hospital emergency rooms will provide emergency medical treatment regardless of your ability to pay.
BUT, uninsured persons are still liable to pay a substantial medical bills and could find it difficult to obtain subsequent treatment such as surgery and physical therapy. Because EMTALA addresses patients with emergency medical conditions, it likely does not apply to non-emergency, but possibly threatening, chronic conditions like cancer or heart disease that require attention and costly medical treatments .
2. Health care is more expensive when you didn't take health insurance. Uninsured persons are usually charged full price for medical services, because they don't qualify for the discounts negotiated between medical providers and the insurance companies on behalf of members.
For example, visit to the doctor that may cost an insured person $50 may cost the uninsured twice as much. And health insurance may be more affordable than you think.
3. Medical bills is one of the largest causes of bankruptcy. According to a 2009 study, over 60% of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are related to expensive medical bills.
Medical coverage is no guarantee against bankruptcy, but a good health insurance plan can help cover your exposure to the exorbitant medical costs that can arise form an unexpected injury or illness.
4. You make yourself uninsurable. You may be healthy now, but if you are uninsured and diagnosed with a serious medical condition, you will not qualify for coverage when you need it. The best way to preserve your ability to qualify for coverage is to maintain coverage now.
5. Youth offers no protection. People between ages 19 and 29 are more likely to be uninsured than most other groups.
Young adults are also more likely to visit the Emergency Room than any other group. Even a basic individual health insurance plan will limit getting unnecessarily exposed to unexpected medical costs. Individual health insurance plans for adults ages 18-24 can be as low as $100/month, or less.
If you are uninsured and are considering getting health insurance coverage, what are your options?
- Research your health insurance options through an online resource.
- If you've never purchased your own health insurance before, get a quick start by using free online resources like the Health Insurance Quotes Providers Directories
- If you were laid off or are unemployed, talk to your benefits administrator about your rights to COBRA coverage and the availability of the COBRA subsidy.
- If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are unable to afford health insurance, talk to a licensed agent or contact the Foundation for Health Coverage Education to determine what free and low-cost health care options are available to you in your area.
- If you have medical debt or need help understanding your rights, review the Families USA's consumer guide: Your Medical Bills: A Consumer's Guide to Coping with Medical Debt.
