How important is health insurance if you're single...

[CTrain]

I read on another thread I see that people are paying $100-250 per month for health insurance.
Even one guy stated :
To get some quality insurance, you'd have to pay:
$400 a month for good medical insurance (unless you want a $2000+ deductible) = $4800 a year

I'm like whoa...

I have health insurance now and I pay like $7 per week(through my work) but I can't even imagine paying more than $100 per month if I was single.

Up until last year(I'm 33 now) I had very little health insurance. Maybe 2 yrs at most and never consecutively.
My thinking was I'm young, I'm single, why pay so much for health insurance ??
Maybe that was native in my part but I never had any kind of injury despite of the fact that I play hockey and go snowboarding every year.

So if you're young and single and do not involve in any dangerous activities, why bother paying so much for health insurance.

The irony of my thinking was that when I finally did sign up for health insurance, I went on my usual snowboarding trip and I broke my wrist. First major injury ever and I had just sign up. But you know, even if I didn't have health insurance, I probably would only have to pay about $1000 for my injury.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: CTrain
I read on another thread I see that people are paying $100-250 per month for health insurance.
Even one guy stated :
To get some quality insurance, you'd have to pay:
$400 a month for good medical insurance (unless you want a $2000+ deductible) = $4800 a year

I'm like whoa...

I have health insurance now and I pay like $7 per week(through my work) but I can't even imagine paying more than $100 per month if I was single.

Up until last year(I'm 33 now) I had very little health insurance. Maybe 2 yrs at most and never consecutively.
My thinking was I'm young, I'm single, why pay so much for health insurance ??
Maybe that was native in my part but I never had any kind of injury despite of the fact that I play hockey and go snowboarding every year.

So if you're young and single and do not involve in any dangerous activities, why bother paying so much for health insurance.

The irony of my thinking was that when I finally did sign up for health insurance, I went on my usual snowboarding trip and I broke my wrist. First major injury ever and I had just sign up. But you know, even if I didn't have health insurance, I probably would only have to pay about $1000 for my injury.

I wrote that... that is assuming you have a family, aren't on a HMO or endemnity plan of some sort, and want low deductibles. Quality medical coverage is damn expensive....

As for you supposed $1000 broken wrist... it depends on what you have done and where you go. If you had to have pins inserted, that jacks up your bills by quite a bit. Add all of the xrays, followup visits, etc. your bill can get out of hand quickly. Insurance gives you the peice of mind, so you don't have to cut corners when it comes to your health. You don't have to skip a doctors visit or a surgery that you need as once you pay your deductible for the year, you are covered.

 

[glenn1]

If you don't get subsidized health insurance through work (or use-or-lose insurance credits like me) then for single folks, buying full boat health insurance on your own dime is not a good deal. Better to buy a fixed term catastrophic injury policy instead, much cheaper and cost efficient for a young single person who probably won't hit your deductible in a given year with a more comprehensive health insurance plan.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Some injuries/illnesses can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly. The choice is yours.

 

[DrPizza]

why "$400 a month for good medical insurance (unless you want a $2000+ deductible)??

Think about it.... You apparently don't see any middle ground and have reduced this to either (a) no insurance or (b) "good insurance"

Why not go with something cheap with a $2000 deductible... that way you can pay your own way for routine doctor visits (strept throat or whatever) or even pay for your own emergency room care (broken arm). But, if you should, God forbid, wind up with cancer or a serious accident or something that's going to run into the 10's or 100's of thousands of dollars for treatment, you'd be glad the insurance was there with the $2000 deductible.

 

[ggavinmoss]

Why get any insurance?

-geoff

 

[Schadenfroh]

canada is your friend

 

[CrazyDe1]

I don't have insurance...my boss hasn't had insurance in 8 years...

Most of the people I know that just got out of school don't have insurance. If I get hurt I guess I'm F*cked

I haven't been to a doctor in like 6 years...watch now that I said that I'm gonna have a heart attack

 

[przero]

So how much cash can you come up with for an emergency room trip?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

You see people walking around with gimp legs and stuff? Ask them if they had insurance.

You break your leg and all the hospital has to do is cast it. No follow-up care, no fancy fix-ups. They get you out the door and that's it. If you have insurance it's a whole different game.

If you can't pay, they aren't going to bother trying to get you a great quality of life. Nothing is in it for them.

My mother had a brain hemmorage just months after getting health insurance. Her bills were in the millions after the several years it took to recover. That would have been a pisser out of pocket.

In my early 20's I had a stomach problem come up. Had to have all sorts of stuff done and would easily have been about $10k or so by now. Not something I would want to pay out of pocket. My medicines are several hundred a month without prescription coverage. I want to say something like $400, but I pay $70 for 3 prescriptions.

Xrays and bloodwork will bite your ass if you ever need it. The first $500 in charges is free fo' me, after that is goes towards the deductible.

I'll never undervalue it's importance to me.

 

[OS]

imo private health insurance is a disaster. It costs individuals and companies a small fortune and costs are out of control. And if you got freaking 2-3 years w/o work you're screwed. There really needs to be a national health care plan, i mean hospitals already eat it when uninsured have to come in anyways.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: OS
imo private health insurance is a disaster. It costs individuals and companies a small fortune and costs are out of control. And if you got freaking 2-3 years w/o work you're screwed. There really needs to be a national health care plan, i mean hospitals already eat it when uninsured have to come in anyways.

Won't happen, like I said in another thread. There is too much money in private insurance. The gov. heath system has like 3-4% administrative costs, private health is 24%.

So while it would save a ton, and would be a nice thing, it would put thousands of people out of work that are in the industry. The gov. couldn't hire them on as administrators, it would defeat part of the point.

I don't generally like gov. programs and welfare stuff like this. But the asshats that file these ridiculous suits, don't pay, etc. may necessitate it. There are just so many ways to abuse this if it goes gov though. People would be in for the smallest thing. Those who would pay nothing would be getting a damned huge disproportionate amount of care. Everyone would be on all sorts of drugs and programs, costs would skyrocket more, then we would be where we are now.

I guess if I was smart enough to figure it out I wouldn't be sitting up at 11:30 playing with myself and watching cartoons.

 

[Cyberian]

So if you're young and single and do not involve in any dangerous activities, why bother paying so much for health insurance.

You would not want to have to pay out of pocket for some of the operations I've had.
Open Heart surgery and all the related hospital and doctor charges was somewhere around $600K.
I 've also had back surgery, a hip replaced, and a few other various hospital stays and doctor bills.

 

[amnesiac]

I'm a health insurance broker, and we see this all the time.

Just last week I got a call from a client:

"You know how I cancelled my health insurance a couple months ago?"
"Yes?"
"I just got back from emergency gall bladder surgery. I have to pay $25,000 out of pocket -- and that's for hospital expenses only. The surgeon will cost at least that much more."

This was a previously perfectly healthy 30 year old woman.

Anyone who thinks they can cheat the odds and have money "saved away" for medical emergencies is in for a rude awakening if they ever get hurt.

 

[Bryophyte]

You really need at least a high deductible catastrophic plan. Especially if you have any assets to protect...home, etc.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Won't happen, like I said in another thread. There is too much money in private insurance. The gov. heath system has like 3-4% administrative costs, private health is 24%.

So while it would save a ton, and would be a nice thing, it would put thousands of people out of work that are in the industry. The gov. couldn't hire them on as administrators, it would defeat part of the point.

I don't generally like gov. programs and welfare stuff like this. But the asshats that file these ridiculous suits, don't pay, etc. may necessitate it. There are just so many ways to abuse this if it goes gov though. People would be in for the smallest thing. Those who would pay nothing would be getting a damned huge disproportionate amount of care. Everyone would be on all sorts of drugs and programs, costs would skyrocket more, then we would be where we are now.

I guess if I was smart enough to figure it out I wouldn't be sitting up at 11:30 playing with myself and watching cartoons.

Yeah it's one of those momentum things plus special interest stuff. I know this isn't a good comparison, but in taiwan healthcare is really cheap, it's freaking amazing. Major dental surgery is typically less than half price than in the US for the same type of operation. Even things like cosmetic laser surgery which costs thousands in the US is like 100 dollars in taiwan. As I understand it, health insurance is basically national and administrated by the government. Plus Taiwan doesn't have the litigous society that the US does.

It's really a shame healthcare is so f*cked up in the US.

 

[mugs]

Well, I had surgery two years ago that cost $7000... so it's a good thing I had insurance then. My insurance costs $320 a month right now (it was half that when I lived in Indiana). Hopefully I'll get a better job soon so I won't have to pay that anymore.

 

[CrazyDe1]

heh, the problem is I live a very active lifestyle playing lots of sports, climbing mountains, all sorts of things...

 

[LethalWolfe]

just my personal opinion, but going w/o health insurance is just asking for trouble. all it takes is a car accident, mis-step playing ball w/the guys, or an unluckly slip down a flight of stairs and yer up to yer eyeballs in debt.

Lethal

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: OS


I guess if I was smart enough to figure it out I wouldn't be sitting up at 11:30 playing with myself and watching cartoons.

:Q

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
just my personal opinion, but going w/o health insurance is just asking for trouble. all it takes is a car accident, mis-step playing ball w/the guys, or an unluckly slip down a flight of stairs and yer up to yer eyeballs in debt. Lethal

If you can afford it, then maybe its stupid to not get it, but if you can't then there's nothing that can be done. Insurance costs are very prohibitive for many people.

 

[dirtboy]

When I left my job two years ago I kept my insurance through Cobra. I was paying four or five hundred a month. I was going to cancel it. I've never needed insurance, because I don't get sick or have accidents. Luckily I kept it...

I had two emergency surgeries that year. A total fluke. Those two surgeries racked up bills around $20,000. Sure made my $400/mo look reasonable.

So you never know when you might need health insurance. If you get hurt, don't come whining here about the quality of care you get when you don't have coverage.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
just my personal opinion, but going w/o health insurance is just asking for trouble. all it takes is a car accident, mis-step playing ball w/the guys, or an unluckly slip down a flight of stairs and yer up to yer eyeballs in debt. Lethal

If you can afford it, then maybe its stupid to not get it, but if you can't then there's nothing that can be done. Insurance costs are very prohibitive for many people.

I've never quite understood why people choose to go w/o insurance. Get a part time job at Wal-mart or McDonald's or something and you have insurance (not great but it's better than nothing). After college I was unemployed for ~8 months and had insurance the whole time. I found this company on line (I think it was a company that had a deal going w/my bank and that's how I found them) and I got coverage free for 6 months (again, not great coverage but better than nothing) and since I didn't make any claims I was able to get another 6 months of coverage. I got laid off a few days before Xmas last year and started workin' at Blockbuster to pay bills and get insurance until I found something better (which I recently have). If you are in school most times you can get discounted coverage thru the school. Maybe I'm missing something but it doesn't seem that hard to get at least minimal coverage.


Lethal

 

[ub4me]

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