Five Important Reasons Why You Need Health Insurance in 2015

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“I never get sick. Seriously, I haven’t been to the doctor in like 7 years,” says most people who are considering skipping out on health insurance. I mean, seriously, the Affordable Healthcare Act was supposed to make health insurance more affordable, and it’s done the exact opposite. Sure, there are people within a certain income bracket that can now afford healthcare for just a few dollars a month, and then there is everyone else; we can no longer afford it because we are self-employed, we are small business owners or we have individual policies that have quadrupled – or more – in price since this new act was made legal.

For that reason, those of us who have always had health insurance in the past find ourselves staring a premiums that offer very little coverage in comparison to our old policies, and cost close to the same as our mortgage rather than our small car payments or cell phone bills and rationalizing the actual need for health insurance. “I’m not sick,” “I never go to the doctor,” and so on. Okay, so you’ve about convinced yourself that you can get away without health insurance. But can you really afford to go without health insurance?

Health Care is Expensive

Even with health insurance, the cost of healthcare is very expensive. Take it from me; last year when my then 5-year-old daughter was goofing off at Christmastime with our then 2-year-old daughter, she ended up meeting a big, beautiful glass decoration on a coffee table in our living room head first and a lot of blood, tears and damage ensued. We were terrified there was glass in her eye and that she’d need stitches in her forehead, and we immediately rushed her to the emergency room at the instructions of our pediatrician. Our daughter, thankfully, was just fine and the giant gash in her head was more superficial than anything else (no glass in her eye or anywhere else, either). We were very relieved.

Even with a great health insurance policy, that visit still cost us approximately $550 out of pocket – with insurance. Had we not had health insurance, that fee – according to our bill – would have been more like $2800. And all that happened during that visit to the ER was a 10-minute meeting with the doctor, a few glances into our daughter’s eyes with a flashlight, she had her temperature taken and she was cleaned up. Seriously, I could have done that at home for nothing. But without insurance, it would have been out of this world.

Health Care is Vital

There are statistics all over the place that prove people with health insurance are far healthier than those without insurance. Why? Because they aren’t worried about the cost of visits to the doctor thanks to their insurance. This means that’s they are more likely to actually go to the doctor when they’re sick or worried about something that has to do with their health. However, people without insurance often wait so long to do this that they end up far sicker and in need of much more health care than they can actually afford. When you have health insurance, you’re a lot more likely to be healthier.

Peace of Mind

Having health insurance gives you something that you can’t purchase otherwise; peace of mind. Do you know what it’s like to live with peace of mind? Most people don’t, but having health insurance and a few other things in life can make you feel pretty good about the way things are. Peace of mind comes from knowing that if you get sick, you can have medication without going into debt. It comes from knowing that your kids will get their shots and be taken care of when they are in the middle of their own illnesses. It comes from knowing that an accidental or unplanned pregnancy isn’t going to cause you to go bankrupt. Peace of mind is something you can buy through health insurance.

Being Insured Means Having Better Care

When you have health insurance, you receive far better health care than those who do not have it. What do we mean? We mean that you will actually receive better care from doctors and nurses. Why? Because they aren’t worried that you cannot afford the cost of your procedures and your healthcare needs. With those who do not have insurance, it’s not the same. Doctors and nurses are less likely to provide them the best possible care, doing only the bare minimum for those patients so as not to run up the costs the hospital acquires when caring for people without insurance. It could be very dangerous to your health to receive subpar health care, but it’s just the honest truth. If you are insured, your healthcare will be far better than if you are not insured.

You’ll Pay a Fee

If you do not carry health insurance in 2015, you will be forced to pay a large fee to the federal government. What does this mean? This means that you will be issued a fine for not having health coverage. That fee is approximately 2% of your annual income, or $325 per person for each child under the age of 18 you have living in your home who are not insured on any of your insurance plans.

If you choose not to pay for insurance, you not only accrue medical bills you might not expect to pay (you never know when an accident might happen and you’ll require medical care) you’ll also have to pay a fine to the federal government every year when they realize you do not have health care. This fee is not one you can avoid paying, either, as the government will come after you for it. Of course, if you don’t make much money the fee is not very large, so you might consider it the more affordable alternative to paying for an insurance policy that’s more than you can comfortably afford and take care of your family at the same time.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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