Insurance

There is no denying the value of Health insurance.  You are inevitably going to spend money on your health during your lifetime. It is one of the unavoidable truths in life. There are no words to explain the pain of having a patient who is ill, but cannot access the health care they need because of lack of finances. Having health insurance opens up that access to you the moment you sign up and pay your first installment. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have time to save toward your health because you are young. It is not possible to know when you will need a large sum of money to address a health issue.

Take for example a kidney stone. This is an extremely painful condition which will send you to the emergency room or to your physician when it hits you. You will need to pay for that initial visit which can cost between $2,500 up to $80,000 (maybe more) if you end up going to the hospital. You will need to be investigated, this can cost up to $30,000 for the lab tests and up to $200,000 for the radiological investigations. After diagnosis you will need to be treated, this will include pain medications (approximately $10.000- $20,000), IV therapy ($40,000 – $80,000), and admission for more severe cases. If you need surgical intervention the cost of this condition sky rockets. These are approximations but as you can see a simple kidney stone can be devastating if you do not have health insurance to cover a percentage of these costs.

When seeking health insurance make sure that you have selected a plan with good coverage for labs, medications and radiological investigations. You will also need coverage for surgeries and major medical which usually covers hospital stays. If you cannot afford a good plan right now, take the one you can afford and improve it every year or two until you are fully covered. We are by no means the experts in this area. So find an agent that you feel comfortable with, shop around, ask questions and get covered.