Can you afford health insurance? Even more, can you afford not to have health insurance? With the average cost of a hospital stay reaching over $15,000, one unfortunate health incident could easily put an individual of family into debt. More than one-third of all families have less than 6 months of an emergency fund set aside. One health scare could be catastrophic.
However, health insurance may have more benefits than many people think.
- Less out-of-pocket costs. These can help minimize the costs for the health insurance premiums. Because of agreements with doctors, imaging companies, hospitals, and emergency rooms, insured patients have reduced costs and co-pays. Many of these out-of-pockets costs are realized even before deductibles come into play.
- Less likely to go bankrupt. This is part of the denial that everyone has but chances are everyone has heard a story or two about someone getting sick out of nowhere. Think back to that $15,000 hospital stay. That could easily wipe out college savings or retirement accounts, housing or more.
- Seeing the doctor more. Yearly check-ups or seeing the doctor at the start of a health issue can save plenty of money. An emergency visit can easily cost $2,000 or more. Add the costs of tests and scans and the visit could end up even higher.
- Preventative care. By seeing a doctor annually or for other reasons, a doctor may be able to recognize some health issues that can be mitigated or avoided by medicine of lifestyle changes. Doctors can also diagnose an issue before it becomes a larger issue requiring heaving maintenance costs or possibly even hospital stays.
- Overall wellness. Knowing the status of your health and any issues you may have can lessen the anxiety you may have regarding current and future health scares. Some account this lessened state of anxiety as sense of well-being that transfers into one’s daily life.
Finally, insurance has shown to reduce the likelihood of early fatality. Getting to health issues quickly, access to affordable options in treatments, tests, doctors and more can make a difference in the quality of care a patient receives. Being able to not worry about being insured and what type of devastating costs may follow afterwards from healthcare can make it easier for people to seek out help at the first sign of a debilitating illness.
While you may think you can’t afford healthcare, you owe it to yourself and your family to at least talk to an independent insurance agency such as Beck Insurance to find out what the options are for you and your family. Beck Insurance works with individuals and employers for affordable options in health insurance in the Bryan, Defiance, Maumee, Perrysburg, Swanton, and Toledo areas.
