Good health is the greatest blessing one can enjoy in life.
Even if you’re in good health, you never know when a serious illness or accident will happen. Good medical care is certainly going to punch holes in your pocket.
Having health insurance is a big help when it comes to medical care.
Insurance gives you the financial freedom to avail yourself of the best treatment.
It will also save your family from big financial losses on medical bills.
Health Insurance: An Overview
Today, the cost of treating a critical illness is unbearable for most people. With the arrival of cutting-edge medical technologies, the expense of medical treatment has skyrocketed.
The hospital bills can cause severe financial strain on your lifetime savings. A financial burden of this magnitude can reduce the quality of your child’s education or cause you to fall behind on your mortgage payments.
Thus, having good health insurance coverage is a big advantage. It covers the entire cost of your treatment and provides many other important healthcare benefits. The plan may include prescription drug benefits as well.Â
Medical insurance promises to protect you from unexpectedly high medical costs.
Different insurance schemes are helping to lower death rates, improve productivity, and improved health outcomes.
It covers all essential health benefits necessary to maintain your health, especially the big expense of treating illness and injuries from accidents.
Most medical insurances include free preventive care, such as routine health checkups, screenings, vaccines, and wellness counseling.
Even before you meet your deductible, you pay less for what is covered by in-network health care.
You can get complete health care protection at an average premium for a single coverage of around $8,000 annually.
How To Choose The Best Health Insurance Plan
Every insurance company has many enticing offers on its list.
It isn’t clear how to pick the right health coverage as numerous plans and benefits are on offer.
The daunting task of choosing the right policy isn’t easy. Many people buy a health plan without analyzing what is best for them.
If you’re finding it hard to figure out the right plan, you can get superb online assistance from ASSURANCE (assurance.com). Their shop quotes and compare facility is the smartest way to choose the best health insurance policies.
If you are planning for insurance enrollment, keep all of your health information in one place. Also, understand the summary of benefits and coverage.
Here are a few valuable tips for choosing the right health plan:
1. Right policy coverage
Choose health plans that cover various diseases, including viral infections like COVID-19 and dengue fever.
The coverage should include pre- and post-hospitalization coverage, ambulance charges, and cashless treatment. Coverage of critical illness, daily hospital cash benefits, maternity benefits, and in-patient hospitalization must be included in the plan. If you opt for family insurance, the plan must also include the health care needs of babies and the elderly.
Pay special attention to hidden factors like a waiting period, eligibility, plan validity, sub-limits, and threshold limits. Analyze the policy wordings for all terms and conditions critically.
2. Waiting period clauseÂ
Most health insurance plans have a waiting period of 2–4 years for pre-existing diseases and maternity expenses. Choose coverage plans with minimal waiting periods for pre-existing diseases and maternity benefits.
3. Ease of including new family members
Purchase the family health plans with the fewest limitations on adding a new family member. For example, in the unexpected death of a family member, another non-covered member can avail of the deceased person’s benefits.
4. Lifetime renewability
Insurance companies offer a wide variety of health coverage plans. Most of these plans have an average upper age limit of 65 years.
Most people require health coverage during their later years of life. The plans that provide lifetime renewability are the best ones.
5. Co-payment clause
In the U.S., most medical insurance policies come with a standard co-pay ranging from 10% to 20%. This implies that 10 to 20 percent of the hospital bill has to be paid from your pocket.
Always choose the policies with the lowest co-pay clause. The ones without the co-pay clause are the best option.
6. Room rent limitÂ
The biggest part of your hospitalization bill comes from the type of accommodation you choose. A single-room accommodation can be costlier than a quad.
Most health care schemes have an upper limit cap on room rents depending on your chosen policy. It’s better to choose policies with higher room-rent limits.
Benefits Of Health Insurance For You
Health insurance can help you in many ways. A health coverage policy benefits not only you but your family as well. Health insurance is important for your health and well-being.
Here are six crucial reasons why you should get an insurance plan:
1. Protects the family
A family health insurance plan helps protect all family members’ health and financial safety.
It ensures the family’s financial condition by saving on medical bills.
A suitable health plan allows the family to be stress-free during medical treatments.
2. Allows treatment for lifestyle diseasesÂ
Lifestyle diseases are on the rise among young and older adults alike. Conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory issues are common, even in young people.
Opting for a health plan allows you to meet the expenses of hospital tests and medication for lifestyle diseases. Regular tests and timely medical intervention reduce the severity of lifestyle diseases.
3. Insulates you from rising medical costsÂ
The cost of treatments at a hospital is continuously rising with the latest medical technologies. Also, the cost of consultations, diagnostic tests, ambulance charges, and medicines is increasing yearly.
You can beat medical inflation by opting for long-term health insurance at a fixed premium each year.
4. Gives adequate insurance coverage
You may already have employee insurance provided by your company or government. But such insurance has only limited coverage. Subscribing to personal or family insurance provides more comprehensive coverage. If you have a low coverage plan, you can upgrade it to a higher one when you can afford it.
5. Secures your hard-earned savingsÂ
Buying health insurance secures your savings and property. Your medical insurance company will take care of your unforeseen medical expenses. It’ll be wise to buy policies that allow you to have cashless treatment. You don’t have to worry about reimbursements in such hassle-free schemes.
6. Early insurance is cheap
Subscribing to health insurance early in life allows you to take advantage of the plans at lower rates. You also get extensive coverage for a lower insurance premium rate.
Most companies provide early-age plans with shorter waiting periods.
Importance Of Health Insurance In The U.S.
Statista statistics say, as of 2021, over 300 million people in the United States had some form of health insurance.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 91.7 percent of the population has health insurance coverage. Still, there are around 28 million people without health insurance protection.
In the U.S., the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to cover a list of essential health benefits.
After enrollment in the plan, you’re eligible for preventive services at no cost.
Once enrolled, you’re entitled to free checkups, patient counseling, immunizations, and health screenings
Here are five reasons why you should opt for health insurance in the United States of America:
1. No universal healthcare
Unlike most European countries, the United States has no universal healthcare guarantee. Thus, it’s crucial to obtain health coverage from private insurance companies. Or, you can avail yourself of Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs programs through public sources.
2. Expensive healthcare serviceÂ
In the U.S., you must shell out around $7,500 to get treated for a minor fracture on your leg. But the same can be had for less than $200 in most Asian countries.
The cost of a dental implant starts at $4,250 in the U.S. A wisdom tooth removal costs a minimum of $400.
Staying three days in the hospital can cost you $25,000 on average.
3. Health insurance is common
Most people in the U.S. subscribe to at least one health coverage policy. A common man with no insurance will find it hard to get quality treatment in the U.S.
4. Service from the primary care provider
When you buy health insurance, you can choose a PCP, which is part of your insurance company’s network. This allows you to get regular medical checkups and treatment at PCPs.
5. Faster access to care servicesÂ
Usually, you’ll need an appointment to see your PCP. The waiting time for meeting your doctor can take up to two weeks, depending on your reason for consultation.
Having health insurance gives you the advantage of easy access to a PCP. You’ll get faster health service from PCP under your insurance company’s network.
Insurers like Assurance or Blue Cross And Blue Shield, help customers to get easy access to PCP emergency departments and the use of health care systems.
Read next: Find out whether hair transplantation and DUI accidents come under insurance coverage.