Putting A Price On Health
If you want to stand a chance at affording decent healthcare, medical insurance is a must. Without it, something as small as a broken arm could leave you bankrupt. It’s a worrying reality, but one we all face each day. The idea of not being able to afford treatment when we need it is enough to keep us awake at night. So, we continue to pay into monthly plans and assume that’ll cover medical expenses until our dying day.
But, that’s not always the case. While health insurance covers most eventualities, there are some instances where it won’t do any good. This, more than any other incentive, should be enough to encourage you to save. While you can’t put a price on health, care providers can and do. To avoid being in an instance where you can’t afford care, make sure you have money behind you. If you’re not convinced, we’re going to look at a few cases where your insurance won’t save you.
Medication
The astute among you will be thinking ‘of course insurance covers medication!’ and yes, it’s often the case. For the most part, medication shouldn’t be a worry. But, don’t fall into the trap of thinking insurers include all medicines on their policies.
The rules about the issue put us at a false sense of ease. The official standing on this is that: “they have to cover at least the greater of: One drug in every United States Pharmacopeia (USP) category and class.”. All sounds fine, so far? Read again. As long as your insurer offers to cover one drug from every category, they can get away with refusing to pay for others. So, if one drug isn’t appropriate for your condition, or you can’t take it due to allergies, etc., your hand will be in your pocket.
The wrong kind of recovery
It’s important to note, too, that if treatment is a direct result of our actions, insurers don’t have to pay for it. For the most part, this applies to addiction recovery and such. While attitudes towards addiction are changing all the time, it’s still not considered a medical issue. As such, you’ll need to put your hand in your pocket again if you want to overcome your demons. And, as this outline of ibogaine treatment prices shows, things can get pricey. As stated in the article, you can save money by picking the right center. But, this still won’t be cheap.
Care in later life
It’s true that some health insurance plans cover later life care, but many don’t. The chances are that a policy will cover you for falls and slips, and in-hospital care. But, when it comes to long-term care homes and so forth, insurers don’t have to pay. One way around the issue would be to look out for an insurer who offers this, but you may pay more for such a long-term plan. Instead, it may be worth going it alone and starting to save for the eventuality now.
