Health insurance is far more important than people realize, particularly people who are in good health. Most people assume that if you never get sick and don't participate in potentially hazardous activities, that health insurance isn't really necessary. However, health insurance doesn't exist to protect you from circumstances that you are already in. It exists to protect you from what has yet to happen.
Let's assume that you are a very healthy person. You may not have gotten ill enough to visit a doctor in five years. That doesn't mean that you won't catch the next flu that comes around. Some serious health conditions can appear without warning among even the healthiest people. There are many thousands of Americans who have developed cancer in their twenties. There are some health conditions whose appearance has little or nothing to do with a person's overall health. For example, it doesn't matter what condition you keep your body in if the meal you are served in an expensive restaurant was infected with E. coli.
Health insurance is admittedly expensive. Coverage can really take a bite out of your monthly budget, especially now when the cost of almost all necessities is rising and just getting by is becoming increasingly difficult. However, not having insurance can be even more expensive. Many people think that the cost of not having insurance would be a couple hundred extra dollars for a doctor's visit. Those people are seriously mistaken.
If the risk of not being insured was in the hundreds, almost no one would have health insurance. Most of the serious medical conditions that make insurance attractive can cost many thousands of dollars. A short stay in a hospital may cost you well over ten thousand dollars, longer stays requiring complex procedures even more. Not being covered may ruin your finances for years, and may even lead to bankruptcy.
Going without health insurance can also severely limit the kinds and quality of health care that you receive. While emergency rooms do have an obligation to offer treatment to those without coverage, that obligation is limited to stabilizing your condition and does not extend beyond that. Most doctors and health care facilities will require payment in advance if you do not offer proof of insurance. Free and sliding scale clinics are an option for care, but again, they are limited in the kinds of treatment they can offer and waiting times can be daunting.
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