Not having health insurance can add a significant amount of stress to your life. If you don’t have health insurance the first thing to remember is that health insurance doesn’t insure your “health,” it insures that you’ll be able to pay for it when things go bad.
So the first step you should take is leading a healthier lifestyle. No, it’s not a guarantee, but that saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? It applies here too. Exercise regularly, eat healthy, manage your stress, and be sure that you get plenty of sleep every night.
When driving, or in a car, always wear your seat belt and drive defensively (i.e. expect the person in the other car to not know what they’re doing and plan your driving decisions accordingly.)
These things won’t eliminate all risk, but it will help to manage some of it. Many individuals with great health insurance plans have awful health because they have the mentality that a doctor or pill can fix it. The truth is, a lot of health issues can be solved or eliminated by simple maintenance and prevention. Stop drinking soft drinks. Stop going through the drive through. Stop spending all your time in front of the TV.
Get out. Get your sunlight (no, it’s not as unhealthy in moderation as you’ve been led to believe. Unless you have a sunlight sensitivity, your body needs it to function optimally.) Exercise, Eat your fruits and veggies. Take your multivitamin.
If your employer doesn’t offer a health insurance plan or you work from home, see if you can get a high deductible insurance plan. Yes you will have to pay $5,000 out of pocket before they’ll pay anything, but this will protect you financially from catastrophic events. Open up a health savings account, or even just a regular savings account and start putting money aside for any smaller medical expenses.
Consider natural health care options. Less invasive treatments tend to cost less. Many a person has been helped by the services of a Chiropractor when a more traditional doctor suggested expensive unnecessary surgery.
There are also often more natural therapies than RX drugs. Nature is it’s own pharmacy; where do you think the chemical compounds for RX drugs come from? Many of the RX drugs aren’t even as effective as some of the more natural alternatives. Many RX drugs often cause side effects and complications that you will later have to treat with something else. So break the cycle if you can now.
Protect your financial assets. If you own a small business consider incorporating. With a Corporation the business and you are totally separate entities. If you’ve got money in your business it can’t be taken from you for something personal. And vice versa. If you have a business-related financial problem, you can’t lose all your personal assets.
Look into possible group insurance through business associations. Or if you’re enrolled in college look into the health plans you can get as a student. Also, don’t discount the benefit of the student health clinic. Often you pay a small fee for the year and then any visits to the clinic are free and most diagnostic testing is far less than what you would pay at a regular doctor’s office.
These are just a few of the creative ways to deal with the health insurance issue. Remember that “health” insurance and money to pay for health problems are two separate things. This realization might help to take some of the stress off the issue.