Health Insurance

Health insurance is an important part of being healthy because it covers hospital treatments, doctor visits, and prescription drugs. Insurance companies offer plans for different groups of people and across many geographical areas. Out-of-pocket expenses are tax deductible if the insured person itemizes their deductions on a Schedule A. Public programs such as Medicaid or Medicare cover certain medical costs automatically, but they do not provide health insurance to individuals.

A guide to the ins and outs of health insurance can help you stay healthy without breaking the bank or suffering too much from illness.

Advantages of Health Insurance

If you have health insurance, you may not have to pay for all your medical expenses. The cost of insurance is a fixed sum set aside each month. If you do not use it, you do not lose it. It also comes with other advantages:

Health coverage protects against catastrophic financial damage in case of serious illness or accident. Few people could afford to pay the full cost of major medical bills without an insurance policy to pay the difference between the cost and what they can afford.

Health insurance is critical to maintaining a high standard of living. When someone is ill, they often cannot work, or must cut back on their hours and income significantly, which compromises their lifestyle. Many families survive financially because of a breadwinner's health insurance. A disability or serious illness can strike at any time, and without health insurance, people would be unsure of how to pay for treatment.

Health insurance gives you access to a network of medical professionals and facilities that would otherwise not be available to you. Generally, the best physicians will be more willing to take patients who are insured.

Health insurance helps keep you healthy in the following ways:

It provides preventive care such as regular checkups and immunizations which help your body stay strong and fight off disease or illness. It covers routine doctor visits so you can easily maintain your good health. It covers specialist visits and surgery when necessary.

Disadvantages of Health Insurance

If you have health insurance, you may not be able to take advantage of all the advantages described above. For example, without insurance, you might choose not to go to the doctor unless it is "absolutely necessary" because high deductibles and medical bills can be a big burden on your budget.

In other situations:

Your health insurance may not cover certain tests or treatments. It may provide inadequate coverage or pay only a portion of the cost. If your employer has a plan with high deductibles, it may not be worth purchasing.

Health insurance may not even be available to you. For instance, if you have a pre-existing condition, insurance companies might refuse to cover you or might charge extremely high rates. In addition, individual plans are more expensive than group plans and are only available in certain geographical areas.

Health insurers may refuse to cover a family member completely because the other family members' health problems make them too high of a liability for the insurer.

People who live in states with "community rating" laws require health insurance companies to charge everyone the same rates regardless of their medical history. However, this can lead to healthy people leaving the system and being replaced by unhealthy people - also known as "adverse selection".

Health insurance policies that cover prescription drugs may have a high copayment or deductible, or may not cover certain medications.

Health insurance companies can change their rates and deductibles at any time, which may affect you.

Preventive Medical Care When you go to the doctor on a regular basis for a physical exam and routine tests, you are practicing preventive care , also called primary care . Going to the doctor before an illness or disease gets worse is essential to staying healthy. Routine checkups save lives by:

Detecting health problems early when they are more easily treated and less expensive to treat. Identifying potential health problems before they develop into major illnesses.

Here are some things preventive care looks for:

* Blood pressure, weight, and other heart measurements * Screening for cancer by seeing a doctor's office tumor screen * Screening for diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure * Screening for skin problems such as acne, eczema or psoriasis * Screening for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). * Checking vision to see if you or your children need glasses * Hearing tests to see if you need hearing aids.

Some diseases and conditions cannot be diagnosed until they have progressed. For example, a person who has heart disease cannot be diagnosed until they have experienced symptoms such as chest pain. Preventive care early on in the illness will allow for more effective treatment and less expensive care later on. The earlier a health problem is detected, the sooner it can be treated.

Some examples of disorders that require preventive care include:

* Diabetes * Cancer * Heart disease * High blood pressure * High cholesterol levels * Obesity (a problem with excess body fat)

Hospitalization When you go to the hospital, you are receiving immediate medical care while you are still under your doctor's immediate supervision. This is called inpatient care .

Hospitalization may be a planned procedure, such as when you schedule a colonoscopy or surgery. Or it may be an emergency situation, such as an accident. In some cases, it's unclear whether the illness will require hospitalization.

People who are hospitalized receive medical care anytime during their stay. A patient is usually admitted through the emergency room and later transferred to a dedicated area of the hospital for longer-term care. Depending on the type of condition for which you have been hospitalized, you could spend several days receiving treatment in the hospital or only one night while under observation and treatment by your doctor before being released again.

Your health insurance may cover you while you're a patient in the hospital. In some cases, the cost of your treatment will be taken out of your deductible and other payments to the hospital. If you have insurance, it can cover things like:

* Doctor's visits * Medicine * Tests and examinations * Emergency room visits * Hospitalizations that are shorter than expected (usually only one night)

If your insurance plan doesn't cover your bill, it will pay a certain amount called a copayment or co-insurance . Your insurance company will also pay a portion (copayment) of all doctor's office visits.

Conclusion

Health insurance is beneficial because it helps you stay healthy and protect yourself from financial trouble. However, it can be an expensive and difficult process to get health insurance. If you have questions about this article, please contact Lifesum for help deciding what kind of health care plan is the best fit for you.

Lifesum can help you choose the perfect health care plan, start your application and enroll in the plan so that you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that if anything goes wrong, there will always be someone to help. Contact Lifesum today at 1-800-545-1717 or visit us at www.lifesum.com . We offer free consultations in person or by phone.