Health insurance is an essential resource to protect you and your health. From preventative care with a primary care physician to caring for minor injuries with urgent care in Lexington, KY to essential care for life-threatening injuries in the emergency room, health insurance protects you in more ways than one. Read on to learn why you need health insurance to keep you and your loved ones protected.
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Financial Protection
The strongest case for the need for health insurance is the financial protection it provides. Without health insurance, healthcare is incredibly expensive. You can expect to pay up to 80% more for medical services without insurance.
While preventative care, such as seeing a primary care physician, will be more expensive without insurance, the biggest financial burden you run into will be when the unexpected happens.
Accidents and illnesses can’t be planned for and when they happen, they can be costly. And because you haven’t planned for it, you could end up with medical debt.
Medical debt is one of the most common types of debt people hold. It can create a huge financial burden for families and can be debilitating to their quality of life.
To avoid finding yourself saddled with large medical bills, health insurance can help.
You will pay significantly less for care and get the financial support you need in the event of an unplanned medical expense.
Preventative Health Protection
Preventative care helps you maintain your health and wellness. With health insurance, you’re covered with annual checkups by your primary care physician, vaccines and immunizations, health screenings, and more.
All of these services are essential in staying healthy. You protect yourself from illnesses and can increase the chances of early detection of health issues.
With medical conditions, early detection is always best.
A primary care physician will also be there as a sounding board to recommend other forms of medical care and health practices you need to maintain your wellness.
If you do need specialized services, you often need to have a referral to get an appointment. That’s where your doctor comes in.
They are a great resource for helping you find the medical support you need to stay healthy.
With health insurance, these services are affordable and often covered.
If you do have to pay for any preventative services, it’s likely the cost of your copay, which is significantly lower than what you would expect to pay if you did not have health insurance.
Protected Health Benefits
While general preventative health is essential, there are some health services you need in addition to seeing a primary care physician. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACT), health insurance companies are required to offer comprehensive services to help individuals maintain proper health. This includes:
- Chronic disease management services
- Emergency services
- Hospitalization
- Maternity and newborn care
- Mental health services
- Outpatient services (also called ambulatory patient services)
- Prescription drugs
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
- Laboratory services
- Pediatric services
For full, well-rounded health protection, these services are a piece of managing your health.
Having a primary care physician is great, but they can’t always provide other essential, specialized services you need to manage your health.
If you or a member of your family require any of these services, having health insurance is essential. Otherwise, the cost would come out of pocket and expenses will add up quickly.
Protects Peace of Mind
Most people deal with stress in their lives in some shape or form, particularly financial stress.
Health insurance offers you peace of mind that if something tragic occurs, you and your family will be protected.
The protection comes in the form of financial protection, so you don’t have to be concerned about building up tons of medical debt.
You can feel safe in the fact that health insurance offers quality health services for your family.
Without insurance, your concern might be in finding the cheapest solution. With insurance, you can find quality healthcare professionals in your network to provide medical services to your family.
It is impossible to predict when a horrific accident or life-altering medical condition will happen.
It may never happen, in which case you should count yourself lucky. But there’s always that possibility.
Instead of stressing out about what you will do if something happens, you can rest assured that as long as you have health insurance, you’ll be able to manage whatever happens.
Conclusion
While health insurance is technically optional, it’s not something that you should put on the back burner.
To live a long, healthy life, you need to take care of your body and your mind. Health insurance helps you do that with quality preventative care and financial support.
