Buying Personal Health Insurance - Hedging My Risks
A few months back I decided to leave the comfort of full time employment and venture on my own. One of the most common concerns from coworkers, family, and friends was what are you going to do about health insurance. To tell you the truth the thought had not crossed my mind much. I am a young guy in relatively good shape (damn beer gut) and tend not to frequent the doctors office much.
The other day I was riding my bike when a lady stepped in front of me. I took a bit of a spill scraped up my side and elbow. What I realized lately is that I have been riding my bike much more gingerly. My subconscious is making me realize that I do not have health insurance and the next fall could set me back significantly when it comes to my personal finance.
With the average cost of a night stay in a hospital at almost $6,000 dollars I cannot afford not be covered.
I came up with this checklist of questions to ask yourself when buying personal health insurance.
Does Your Spouse or Partner Have Insurance -Don’t get personal insurance if you can get your spouce or partner to sign you up. Unfortunately, I am not married yet so even though my girlfriend has great insurance she can’t hook me up just yet.
How Much Do You Have Saved - The deductible is one of the biggest drivers of cost when it comes to buying personal health insurance. If you are willing to drop some money and it won’t set you back much then go for a high deductible to reduce your monthly cost.
Do You Have Other Dependants - Do you have children or elderly parents? Then you should take them into account when signing up for family health insurance. Those groups are much more likely to have to visit the hospital.
How Often Do You Visit the Doctor - If you are like me then you hate the doctors office and would rather have your teeth pulled. In my case I want lower monthly payments and don’t mind that my co-pay is a little high. If you are a HYPOCHONDRIAC then maybe you want lower co-pays.
I hope this helps you in buying personal health insurance.
To view free quotes side by side from all sorts of health insurance providers check out eHealthInsurance.com
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