If you are in need of a low cost health insurance policy, there are a couple things that you can do in order to lower the costs. Unfortunately, neither one of these options is very pleasant, however, in the case of having health insurance or not having it at all, it’s better to have some protection. Here a two things that you could do.
#1. Strip down the coverage. This is what I meant by hating to have to do, but some is better than none. The object is to strip down certain coverages by reducing the amounts that your insurance will cover within the policy. For example, you could buy a low cost health insurance policy with rock bottom, minimum coverage. This may mean that you won’t have as much coverage in the event of an emergency that requires long term hospital care, however, we’re working on the premise of “something being better than nothing” here, so it’s kind of a take what you can afford situation, which is very unfortunate. I realize that a lot of people may look at this option with criticism or ask “what’s the point”? The point is that a large portion of bankruptcies here in the USA are because of excessive medical bills. If they were partially covered, a family may be able to avoid that.
#2. Raise your insurance deductible to the maximum. This option would mean that you’d be paying practically 100% of your everyday medical care out of your own budget. If you think about it though, you’re probably already doing this. How many times have you seen the doctor this year so far? How many times did you go last year? The average is twice, so if you have a deductible as low as $250-$500.00, then you probably had to pay for that yourself anyway, didn’t you? The main objective by raising your deductible to the maximum is to protect yourself, as in the example above. You’ll want to put away $500.00 aside for doctor visits and never touch it. More if you have a large family.
These ideas, of course, aren’t the only options that you have. I know that a lot of skeptics will argue these options and that’s fine. I recommend when you’re looking for low cost health insurance to keep all of your options open.
By: Joe Stewart
Archive for November, 2009
The Difference Between Health Care and Health Insurance
November 27th, 2009
It seems like the only thing we hear on the news these days is the constant debate that is currently taking place in the United States regarding health care. But what does it all mean? What is the difference between health care and health insurance, and how will it affect me and my family?
Health care is the care you receive when you visit a hospital or doctor’s office to receive treatment for an illness. Health care includes all of the goods and services that are designed to promote health. Health insurance is an insurance that is used to cover medical expenses. You pay a monthly premium, and should you need medical attention, your insurance company will pay for most of those medical costs.
The current debate that is taking place across the country is with regard to the government controlling a large portion of the health care industry. There are many details in this health care bill, but the main points of the bill include giving low-income families access to health insurance and requiring employers to offer health insurance to their employees.
There are many pros and cons to this bill. This bill would bring health insurance to many people who otherwise could not afford it and would put cost restrictions on what seems to be an out-of-control industry. Many people have made good arguments about the ridiculous cost of receiving healthcare. When a man without insurance goes to the emergency room, and receives a two thousand dollar bill for his thirty-minute stay, it raises some questions about the ethical nature of the health care industry.
On the other hand, there are also many cons to the passing of this bill. Many people think that the quality of health care will go down if the industry is regulated by the government. If you compare government agencies with companies in the private sector, companies that are driven by profit are much more efficient and far exceed their government equivalents. Another point that is argued by opponents of the bill is that it will cost trillions of dollars, which will be repaid partly by taxing wealthy individuals. Small businesses will incur more costs, as they will be required to offer insurance to their employees.
Emotions tend to run high when talking about healthcare. Quality of life and happiness is determined by a person’s health. And when people start to talk about change, it tends to make everyone a little nervous because no one knows what the outcome will be. This bill affects everyone, and there are people it might help, and people it might hinder, so naturally it tends to cause emotions to run high.
Over time, other countries have moved to having health care completely controlled by the government. Some say this system works great, but others do not. The outcome of this bill, whether beneficial or detrimental to our nation, will only be known after the passage of time. Hopefully it will be to all of our benefit.
By: Nick Messe
