Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that at its core, covers the cost of medical and surgical expenses, depending on the type of coverage. Depending on the type of insurance the patient is covered under, there may be a small co-payment, a fixed amount that the patient agrees to pay in exchange for a covered health care service. In some cases, the insured patient may not have to pay a co-payment.
Health insurance is important because sickness, injuries and other types of illnesses can occur any time, whether at work or at home. Did you know that nearly 1 in 8 Americans were hospitalized for nonfatal injuries in 2010? Nearly 700,000 patients are treated for poisoning, while falls are the leading cause of injury and death for those over 65 years of age.
Health insurance is also necessary as a preventive measure. Most health plans provide free preventive health care screenings to ensure that those covered under the insurance plans are healthy. These include blood pressure screenings, cholesterol screenings (over a certain age or with questionable risk), HIV screenings, immunization vaccines and tobacco use screening.
For women and especially children, health insurance is even more important.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40% of children aged 5-17 years of age miss three or more school days due to illness or injury. Furthermore, 38 million school days are lost each year due to the influenza virus.
Another reason to have health insurance is to be able to adequately pay for medical payments. The average total payment for back surgery in the United States was $26,515, while coronary artery bypass averaged $45, 438. These costly surgeries that may be sorely needed by the patient and would increase the quality of lives, without insurance would be very tough to pay for.
Health insurance is necessary for everyone. Get multiple quotes and make sure to read your policy to ensure that it’s right for you. While many are covered at work or covered through their spouse or as a dependent, the Affordable Care Act mandates that everyone needs to be covered or they will pay a fine if they go without coverage. There are varying levels of coverage and as a result, varying levels of deductibles and premiums to ensure that you’re adequately covered.
For those who are unable to purchase health coverage on their own, government-subsidized insurance plans may qualify some individuals, depending on their annual income. In short, everyone should be able to qualify and extend their qualify of life.
