Health Insurance

One of the most important types of insurance one can hold is health insurance.  While the cost of this insurance is outrageous, it does not change the fact that medical costs themselves are astronomical.  Without insurance, a medical emergency can not only be detrimental to your health, but also to your finances. This insurance must be a priority!  

Which would you rather have happen when you experience a major illness or surgery?  Pay medical insurance premiums and only owe the insurance deductible or have no insurance and end up owing $20,000, $50,000, or even $100,000 because you had no health insurance?

I think you know which route I have chosen for my family.  Everyone in my family is covered. Yes, I know it is expensive but I have experienced first hand the importance of insurance.  Jenn has had two major surgeries and I have had one. Each one cost more than $14,000. Two surgeries occurred within ten months of each other.  If we did not carry medical insurance, it could have destroyed the path we were on to win with our money.

Now, just because you have to have this insurance, it does not mean that you should simply pay whatever rate you are quoted.  Shop around for better deals. Make the decision to at least carry insurance that covers huge expenses, like a high deductible health insurance plan.  While this type of plan will require you to pay a significant amount of any medical expenses before insurance takes over, once you have reached the deductible, the plan will usually pay for the majority (if not all) of your additional health care costs for the remainder of the insurance year.  This is much cheaper than comprehensive care, but you should be okay financially if you have reached Rung #5 on the IWBNIN Ladder and have established a fully funded emergency fund of at least three months of expenses.  

Medical Insurance Tips:

• Get over being irate at the cost of medical insurance and get covered – even a high deductible plan can seriously limit the costs you would pay in the event of a major medical event
• Shop around – usually your employer health plan will be better than what you can get on the open market as an individual, but it is still worth shopping around
• Make sure you clearly understand what the insurance will and will not pay for
• Have health insurance at all times as you never know when you are going to need it

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