The struggle for low cost health insurance in America is real, and getting worse every day. While politicians all try to spin the health care issue in their own way and the media plays down the problem, real people every day go without basic health coverage. This often means they can’t afford prescriptions, have to forego doctor visits, and often even go bankrupt from unexpected hospital expenses. It’s a national disaster that needs to be changed.
Worse, many people who have health insurance and have never gone without it look down on those who don’t have it. They look at the uninsured as too lazy to get a “real” job, or as illegal immigrants who don’t deserve to have coverage, anyway. They don’t take into account that everyone, regardless of immigration status, deserves access to health care. They also don’t realize that not every employer provides health insurance to their employees, and that not all policies are affordable. In fact, most health insurance policies are quite expensive. Low cost health insurance is almost unheard of in this country!
According to the National Health Care Coalition, nearly 80 percent of people without health insurance in America are either Native American or naturalized citizens. Further, 8 out of 10 people who are uninsured come from working class families. Many of these people have full-time jobs, but are still unable to afford access to health insurance for one reason or another.
The entire health care system in America is designed to lock entire segments of the population out of it. For example, if you work enough to barely pay all your bills and buy food for your family, you probably earn too much to get state-sponsored Medicaid insurance. If you make good money but work for a small company, your employer may not be able to afford to offer health insurance. The cost of most policies is such that buying one would take a large chunk out of whatever surplus you bring home each month, so a lot of people in this position just decide to forego it. This is especially true among young adults (aged 18 to 24), who usually do not look at low cost health insurance as a priority.
The costs of medical services are so much nowadays that just one trip to the hospital for an unexpected illness or injury could ruin you financially. If you’re not able to pay the bill (and most people won’t be able to do this), then your credit is ruined for 7 to 10 years. So what are you to do if you need coverage but can’t afford it? Where can you find low cost health insurance? There are a handful of policies that offer reduced rates on individual policies, such as Blue Cross/Blue Sheild, which are worth looking into. It also makes sense to call small, local insurance providers personally to see if any specials are available on premiums. Though difficult to find, inexpensive health insurance does exist, and it’s extremely important to make the effort to find it. If you don’t, you’ll surely wish you had when you eventually need it, so get looking today!
his is the seventh installment in our health insurance series. Be sure to check back for updates…
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