High premiums have made health insurance
seem like more of a luxury than a necessity. Insurance rates
are the highest they’ve
been in history, and show no signs of falling. In recent years,
insurance premiums have increased by as much as seven percent.
That’s twice the rate of inflation. We spend a huge amount
of our salaries on health care, and it seems like the situation
is only going to get worse. More than forty million people in
this country go without health insurance every day. Ten million
of them are young singles. The rest have families to worry about
on top of being unable to afford insurance. Unfortunately, they
can’t afford the high premiums that most insurance companies
charge, and are at risk for accruing huge medical bills should
something ever happen. So, the question of what is the best affordable
health insurance is on everyones insurance wish list!
Many people who don’t have insurance put off getting the
medical care they need because they’re afraid of the debt
they might incur. This fear is justifiable – the single
biggest cause of personal bankruptcy in this country is unpaid
medical debt. Even outpatient hospital services can climb to a
sum of tens of thousands of dollars. An emergency room visit might
cost several thousand. An extended hospital stay is even more.
With these kinds of expenses, it’s clear that health insurance
is no luxury. Insurance can mean the difference between unpayable
medical debt and being covered in case of an emergency.
The best affordable health insurance will be different for every
person. Obviously, in general you want a plan that fills your
needs while costing the least amount possible, but since every
person has a different medical history, they will also have different
needs. Every individual will also have a different budget to devote
to buying health insurance. In general, healthy people need less
coverage than those with pre-existing conditions. Ironically,
the latter are the ones who usually have the hardest time finding
affordable health insurance. Almost all states at least have a
high-risk pool that will insur anyone, but that insurance is very
expensive, and a last resort.
In general, the most reliable health
insurance is group insurance through your job. It’s generally not very expensive, and
your employer will probably contract with a well-known company.
Insurance providers give discounts to businesses and other organizations
that can buy their health insurance in a group. The problem occurs
when you can’t get this kind of coverage. Employers are
increasingly reducing the benefits they offer their employees.
Self-employed people and others who don’t qualify for state
benefits, but also don’t have insurance through their job
can also have trouble getting insurance. In these cases, it’s
best to search the web for insurance companies’ sites, or
look up the companies in your area to find information about rates
and plans. You can then compare this information to figure out
what plan is the best for your needs.