If you are young and healthy, you may wonder if you really need to have health insurance. After all, if you only see the doctor once a year, you might think it's not worth it to pay premiums every month.
But you really do need to have health insurance. No matter how healthy you are today, you are one hospitalization away from a financial disaster that could affect you for years to come. There's simply no way of predicting whether you are going to have appendicitis or take a nasty fall while you're out rock climbing. Life happens, and you need to be prepared, just in case.
When you buy an insurance policy, you are protected against major expenses that can wipe you out financially. You can also get some help paying for doctor visits and prescriptions, which will bring great peace of mind if you do happen to become ill.
Additionally, once you are diagnosed as having an illness, it will be more difficult for you to obtain health insurance in the future. The insurance industry discourages people from waiting until they get sick to buy insurance by imposing pre-existing condition exclusion periods that deny coverage for health conditions diagnosed before the insurance policy was purchased.
So health insurance is definitely something for you to consider buying. Be sure to read Health Insurance 101 to find out more about your coverage options.
