There are always people who think that they don’t need any form of health insurance. That is because they are naive to think that accidents or illnesses won’t befall them. So there is no need to manage such risks. Then there are those who believe that they are well off enough to handle the risks, should they be unfortunate. The problem is, their estimation for medical bills are way off. Most people are not conscious of the rising cost of medical bills, and they have very little how a serious illness can affect the financial cash flow of the family. Imagine the following situation.
A family of four depends on the father for a living. The mother is a full time homemaker, and stays at home to take care of the children. This sounds like a typical family. If nothing goes wrong, the family has a happy lifestyle. The father goes to work, brings money home, and put food on the table. Occasionally, there may even be some extra cash for a family vacation.
But if something unfortunate happens to the breadwinner of the family, everything falls apart. The responsibility then falls heavily on the spouse to keep the family together. But with the sole breadwinner gone, where is the money going to come from? Even the strongest person need some time to cope with the transition.
That is where health insurance comes in. Health insurance can help protect the family in the event of unfortunate accidents of illnesses. A serious illness, such as cancer, can incur heavy medical bills. Often, family members are at a loss of how to come up with such a huge sum of money to pay for the bills. If there is some kind of health insurance plan in place, the insurance company will take care of all, or most of the bills.
Without adequate insurance coverage, the family members not only have to worry about the health of the affected member, but they also have to worry about coping with the financial setback. Therefore, it is wise to manage the risks and provide a safety net for the family.
Contrary to popular belief, health insurance does not have to be expensive at all. There are many types of plans available, and the premiums vary greatly. If budget is a concern, an individual can always consider taking up a low cost plan, and then upgrading later. Having a small policy is still better than having no policy.
A low cost health insurance plan usually means that the policy holder has to be responsible for a larger amount of deductible. Deductible is the amount that the insured has to pay first, before submitting a claim. For example, if the bill comes up to $5,000, and the deductible is $1,000, the insured has to pay the initial $1,000, and claims the rest from the insurance company. Still, this is better than having zero protection, for it places a ceiling on the amount of money that the insured has to pay.
If budget permits, try to take up a larger policy with more comprehensive coverage. Deductible for such policies are usually much lower, and the coverage amount is also larger. Having adequate protection gives everyone peace of mind.