Do you remember the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Health insurance makes it easier than ever before to access preventive services like routine physicals, immunizations and screenings.
Medical expenses can be extremely costly, but health insurance may help alleviate a substantial financial strain should major medical care be required. Discover more about health coverage to determine whether it fits with your needs.
1. Financial Protection
Health or medical insurance provides risk protection by covering part of an individual’s medical costs – from out-of-pocket payments (deductibles, copays and coinsurance) to monthly premium payments on plans such as those offered through Aetna or Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
Without health insurance, medical bills can cause financial strain that leads to debt or bankruptcy and have serious repercussions for both personal and family lives. Health coverage provides stability that allows people to focus on what matters most in life.
Most Americans with health insurance obtain it either through their workplace or government marketplace, accounting for around seven out of ten Americans covered under an employer-sponsored plan or through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. Individual plans typically offer various options tailored specifically to each user’s needs and budget, such as monthly premiums and out-of-pocket maximums that best suit individual preferences.
Health insurance costs vary considerably based on an individual’s circumstances and location, yet can prove well-worth their while over time. A recent study found that those without coverage are twice as likely to experience financial difficulty and make costly decisions such as taking funds out of retirement funds or filing bankruptcy than those who do have coverage.
Studies have also shown the financial security provided by health insurance is only part of its benefits; household expenditures on health care can push families below or near poverty lines and require constant monitoring so policies can be designed to reduce them.
2. Peace of Mind
Healthcare insurance provides essential financial protection against sudden medical needs that arise unexpectedly, such as broken legs or life-threatening illness. Without coverage, such events could strain family finances. According to The Commonwealth Fund study, 38% of those without health insurance reported medical debt after going without coverage.
The Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, mandates health insurance coverage for everyone and has created the Health Insurance Marketplace as a central marketplace. There you can shop for plans that best meet your needs and budget – bronze coverage has its own set of benefits while platinum provides additional features and costs.
Choose a high-deductible health insurance plan to keep premiums down while being responsible for paying all out-of-pocket expenses up until meeting the deductible threshold. To help offset increased out-of-pocket costs, pair this choice with an HSA.
One advantage of having healthcare coverage is receiving regular checkups to catch any potential issues before they worsen, which is particularly helpful for young adults at greater risk of serious conditions. Health insurance provides access to highly trained doctors and cutting-edge services.
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure; therefore, healthcare is vitally important. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), uninsured Americans are twice as likely to die early compared with those with health coverage – it is estimated that 18,000 individuals die prematurely each year due to lack of coverage.
3. Health Care Keeps You Healthy and Well
Maintaining optimal health requires regular checkups, screenings and vaccinations – but many Americans eschew preventive services due to financial barriers. Even families with health insurance face high copayments and deductibles that prevent them from seeking needed treatment – placing unnecessary strain on our healthcare system by diverting scarce resources toward treating conditions that might have been avoided with preventative measures.
Most people only visit their doctor when they’re feeling unwell or injured, which is an enormous mistake as preventive healthcare can help people stay healthy, catch diseases early, and avoid expensive treatment later on. A regular bloodwork test, for instance, can detect issues like high blood pressure or diabetes so you can treat them before they become severe. Other preventive healthcare measures include vaccines (which protect against diseases like tetanus, whooping cough and influenza) as well as annual physical exams which may reveal early warning signs for heart disease, high cholesterol or other chronic health conditions.
Studies demonstrate the relationship between health insurance coverage and lower death rates, improved health outcomes and greater productivity. With so many plans available for purchase, however, it can be daunting trying to select one that’s tailored to your unique needs and wants. GetCoveredNYC can assist by explaining all your options so you can select one that best meets them – you just have to find it first! Our experts at getCoveredNYC can be of great assistance here in helping sort through all those health insurance buzzwords to locate one which fits in best fulfilling them all of your requirements!
4. Better Health Outcomes
Health insurance plans cover part of their policyholder’s medical expenses in exchange for monthly premiums, from routine doctor visits and hospital stays, through surgery and surgery coverage – depending on the policy purchased – all the way to cancer screening, flu shots, and other preventative services such as cancer screenings or screening tests. While their monthly premium may seem expensive at first, they usually end up costing less than out-of-pocket healthcare expenses that could arise without coverage.
Studies show that having health insurance greatly enhances the odds of appropriate care and improved clinical outcomes for people living with chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. One such study revealed that uninsured patients were nearly two times as likely to experience uncontrolled hypertension compared to sociodemographically similar individuals covered by health insurance (Powell-Griner et al, 1999). Another research project concluded that insured chronic illness patients are more likely to obtain necessary prescription medicines than their counterparts without coverage even when accounting for other factors (Powell-Griner et al, 1999).
Young, healthy adults typically find affordable health insurance through their employers or private insurers; older adults are usually unable to take advantage of this option and struggle with whether to obtain coverage or go without. Without coverage, those without medical bills could incur financially debilitating medical bills as well as be denied care by healthcare providers; when searching for health coverage it’s essential that all your options are explored; keeping parents’ policies until age 26 could save money while providing essential coverage.
5. Better Credit Score
Health or healthcare insurance (also referred to as medical or healthcare insurance) is a form of coverage that helps pay for some or all of an individual’s healthcare costs in exchange for monthly premiums. Without health coverage, you could find yourself facing unmanageable medical bills without health insurance – in the US most people get coverage through their employer as part of an employment benefits package; individuals can also purchase coverage through health insurance marketplaces where government-subsidized plans may be available for low-income individuals and families.
There are three primary forms of health insurance coverage, traditional indemnity plans, managed care plans and consumer-driven health plans. Each type provides its own set of advantages and costs; indemnity plans typically offer more choice but at greater expense while managed care and consumer-driven plans tend to offer fewer choices at lower costs.
Health insurance not only offers extensive coverage, but can also help boost your credit score. Many insurers believe that financial health has a direct relationship with physical wellbeing; therefore, they utilize your credit report information to evaluate risk and calculate an insurance score which in turn determines your monthly premium rate.
Credit scores don’t have as great an effect on health insurance premiums as they do for auto and home policies, but they still matter. People with healthy credit are considered lower risks and are usually given more favorable rates; this indicates they will pay their bills on time and in full and provide less financial liability to insurers.