These days it is estimated that as many as 47 million Americans are living without some sort of health insurance. While this number might seem staggering, there is no one reason why the number is so large when it comes to those without health insurance. Most people cannot afford the staggering costs of health insurance, which can cost the average family of four as much as 13,000 dollars or more according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Some others do not see the need for health insurance.
There are certainly some good reasons to not have health care, although it doesn’t seem like there would be. If you don’t have health care, you can still see a doctor, or get medication, it is just going to cost you a lot more. However, if you are the type that doesn’t get sick, or doesn’t get injured very often, it could be a wash for you in the long run. Why spend money every month on something that you might not use?
On the other hand, you don’t want to risk it if at all possible. Health care costs can be staggering, and it can cause people to have to declare for bankruptcy. If you aren’t able to pay your hospital bills, you could be sent to collections, and your credit is going to suffer for it. It seems odd to think that being sick could ruin your credit, but it is very possible that it could happen.
If you don’t have health insurance, you might actually have more flexibility as to who you see. A lot of doctors and hospitals might only take certain types of health care, and so it might be easier to just pay for it yourself if at all possible. What doctor is going to reject cash as a form of payment? It is the only universal way to pay, and is accepted anywhere you need anything at all.
On the other hand, insurance is very expensive, and isn’t a good thing to be without if you don’t have money. I went to the dentist a couple of years ago, and my bill was going to be about 150 dollars for a couple of fillings, plus the checkup. My insurance then expired, and the bill to do all the fillings came to a little over 1,000 dollars. Heck for some people 150 bucks might be a lot of money, and 1,000 dollars was out of the question.
If you can afford health care, I would recommend that you get it as soon as possible. There are many alternatives to the current system we have right now that are being discussed. However, until anything changes, you will have to make sure that you have money budgeted for health care just in case something should happen to you.