Health care costs more than doubled in the years between 1990 and 2007, according to AARP, chewing up ever-larger portions of the average family's income. Fewer people today have health insurance, meaning that fewer people have easy access to health care. Health insurance provides several advantages to those fortunate enough to have it so they can receive the health care and medical services they need.
Save on Health Care Costs
Health insurance helps you save on your health care costs. The insurance policy you buy specifies how much the insurance company will cover when you file a claim and how much you'll be responsible for. If you buy a plan that covers doctor's visits, medical tests, hospitalization, emergency room and surgical care, you'll have a higher monthly premium (payment) that you send to your insurance company.
If you buy a more basic health care plan, you'll pay more for your doctor's services, but your premium will also cost you less every month.
Access to Health Care
If you don't have a health insurance policy, it's harder for you to get in to see your doctor because he expects you to pay for every service he performs. You may also have to pay for his services in full at the time of your appointment--if your visit is because of a medical emergency, you may not have all the money you need when you need it.
According to AARP, many people in the United States who do not have a health insurance plan delay their medical care for minor problems to the point that the problem becomes a major health care issue--at that time they wind up in the emergency room, where their care costs even more than it would have had they visited their doctor on an outpatient basis.
Receive Preventive Health Care Services
Finding and purchasing a health insurance plan that fits the needs of you and your family enables you to receive needed preventive health care, such as mammograms, PAP smears, blood work, colonoscopies and tests specific to any health conditions you may have. Because health care costs are rising so quickly, according to Tamara Lytle of AARP, families currently can't afford these tests.
A health insurance policy, whether private or employer-provided, will help to cover a portion of these expenses. As a result, you'll be more likely to follow through with your doctor's orders and have these tests performed on a regular basis.
Member Comments