Not Having Health Insurance Could Leave You Bankrupt
Posted in Health Insurance
February 8th, 2011
Tough times call for today’s families to make critical choices regarding which bills to pay. Some people must choose between food, the car payment and sadly, medical insurance. Often, many families are opting to let their medical coverage fall to the wayside, but this is a very risky decision that could eventually lead to bankruptcy. Health insurance bankruptcy is a situation that can be very devastating to a family, and it is almost always brought on by dropping medical insurance coverage.
The High (And Rising) Cost of Health Insurance
Health insurance is expensive, especially if an individual is not covered by an employer’s group plan. According to the Kaiser Foundation’s Employer Health Benefits 2010 Annual Survey, the average cost of premiums for a single individual’s health insurance coverage in 2010 is $421 per month or $5,049 per year. The average cost of health insurance premiums for family coverage is $1,147 per month or $13,770 per year if that family had to pay for their insurance coverage completely out of their pockets. Additionally, the cost of health insurance has been rising faster than inflation, with the cost of a single person’s coverage increasing 5% over 2009 levels, and family premiums increasing 3%, year-over-year.
How Going Without Health Insurance Can Lead to Medical Bankruptcy
Just one catastrophic illness or large medical procedure can leave a patient with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Hospitals are not financial institutions built for supporting non-paying customers or providing payment plans. They expect to be paid for the services they render at the time they provide them. A large unexpected medical bill to a patient with no health insurance can render that patient in a deep financial hole that may be impossible to dig out of.
What Medical Procedures Costs
Frequently, medical bankruptcy may be the only option for some people without health insurance. Heart bypass surgery or even joint replacement surgeries can cost up to $20,000 or more, and a day in the ICU can run $10,000. Many people with no health insurance have been driven into health insurance bankruptcy because of their lack of medical insurance coverage and then being hit with an unexpected medical emergency.
If you’re ever faced with a life-or-death decision, it will be impossible to deny medical care because you cannot afford it. In many cases, medical procedures will be conducted whether you like it or not in order to save your life.
Hank Coleman is the founder of the personal finance blog Money Q & A and several other financial websites. He is a freelance writer, entrepreneur, and professional in the government sector. Hank holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, a Master’s Degree in Finance and is currently studying for his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) credentials. Be sure to follow him on Twitter.