Who needs health insurance, and what are its benefits?
While it is difficult to predict when you or a member of your family will get sick, with health insurance, you are guaranteed convenient and quality health care services whenever the need arises.
Paying for medical care from the pocket in the USA can be very expensive, especially if you or your loved one is suffering from a chronic illness or gets admitted to a hospital. Therefore, it is essential to take a medical insurance cover to ensure that you are ready for any medical condition.
Who needs health insurance?
Everyone needs to have health insurance. Being healthy today is not a guarantee that you will be fine tomorrow. It is thus vital to have a cover for yourself and your close family members to avoid having financial constraints in case of a medical emergency.
Why it is essential to have health insurance in the USA
Taking health insurance in the US makes it possible and convenient for you to afford decent medical care.
Here are the main benefits of health insurance in the US
Health insurance in the USA has a considerable number of benefits, some of which include:
Safeguards you and your family members.
Illnesses are inevitable to any human being. With health insurance, every member of your family included in the cover can access medical care in any health facility listed in that cover. It, therefore, saves you the hustle of figuring out which hospital to rush your patient once they get sick. Some health insurance covers enable people to include members of their extended family, which helps one to ensure that their parents and those siblings that cannot afford to pay for their insurance have access to quality medical care.
Saves you money
Like most other insurance covers, health insurance saves you money. The total amount you pay to the insurance company is far much less than the coverage you get. Most of the time, if you or your loved one is admitted to a hospital, the insurance company pays much more than what you paid them.
Avoid medical inflations.
With improvements in medical technology in the USA and the increase in diseases, the cost of medical care has increased, making it difficult for some people to afford. The number of money people were paying for doctor’s consultation, ambulance charges, diagnosis tests, operation theatre costs, medicines, and ward rent in 2020 was far much less than they were charged in 2021. Health insurance takes care of these price increases on your behalf, and therefore, you do not feel the impact directly.
Protects you from using up your savings
Sudden illnesses affect you mentally; they can also drain you financially. However, your medical expenditure is catered for with health insurance without being forced to use your savings. If you have proper health insurance, they get to cover all your medical expenses, and you are not required to top up.
Therefore, you are left to use your savings for the intended purpose. Nonetheless, even for those covers that pay part of your medical bill, they help in cost-sharing, and you are therefore not forced to exhaust your savings.
It gives you peace of mind.
Having health insurance in the USA allows you to live a stress-free life, knowing that you or those close to you will access proper medical care in case of a medical emergency. Therefore, you can live comfortably and spend your money freely without worrying about illnesses or accidents that may happen in the future.
Helps prevent illnesses
With health insurance, you can avoid getting sick in the first place. Regular check-ups can prevent some illnesses, which can help identify any prevailing issues before they turn into significant health issues. Health insurance enables you to afford annual check-ups, vaccinations, scans, and screenings, as well as blood tests and lab work to diagnose any illness soonest possible.
This protects you from further damages that may result from advanced illnesses. Similarly, if you have a chronic disease such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression, health insurance can make it easy for you to manage them. Additionally, health insurance gives pregnant women access to regular medical care keeping them healthy and their infants.
Helps to boost an inadequate cover
Suppose your employer provides you with medical insurance that only covers basic medical needs. In that case, you can take another cover that pays for illnesses that run in the family and other chronic illnesses. With medical treatments progressing rapidly in the USA, having a more significant sum assured helps ensure that your every medical requirement is met. If you can’t afford a higher coverage plan right now, don’t worry. You might begin with a small amount of cover and progressively expand it.
Help keep hospitals and health practitioners in check
Nowadays, insurance companies in the US, whether government or commercial, have ways of measuring and monitoring the quality of hospitals to help make the necessary improvements. Some of them include having quality ratings that help patients decide which hospital to work with and banning some hospitals from providing certain services due to poor quality.
This allows people to access quality health care and avoid hospitals that can threaten their health or even their lives.
Some things that are included in Medical insurance in the US are:
- Outpatient care
- Visits to the hospitals’ emergency room
- Inpatient care
- Prenatal and postpartum healthcare
- Prescription drugs
- Lab tests
- Preventive services such as screenings, vaccines and counseling, and management of chronic conditions
- Pediatric services
Although it is not a government requirement for everyone to have medical insurance, everyone should take it upon themselves to have them and their family covered. Medical insurance assists you and helps those people close to you. In circumstances when one is not covered, and their medical bill exceeds their savings, people close to them may be called upon to chip in, interfering with people’s financial plan.
The good thing about having health insurance is that even if no one gets sick during the insured period, you will have achieved benefits such as vaccines and check-ups, which will help you live a healthy and safe life. Additionally, this cover gives you peace of mind knowing that whatever happens, you will not be forced to use up your savings, take a loan or turn to your friends for financial support.
