Declining Health Insurance

It seems that many in this country are gamblers. No, I am not talking in regard to casinos, card clubs, horse racing or any of the typical things that people think of when they hear the term gambling. What I am talking about can involve far more money and have a greater affect on a person's life and may actually cause lifetime probelms and/or death.

The gamble I am talking about is refusing health care coverage. There are a couple of ways that people gamble. The first is quite amazing and that is working for a company and declining the coverage in order to save a few dollars. In this case the amount you have to pay is quite low, but I guess it will limit the fun things you can do, as long as you don't get hurt. Since you don't have to pay the full coverage and you won't get the full cost back, what are these people thinking?

There are many others who do not have coverage at work and choose to not get any coverage, even when it can be fairly cheap. While the cheaper plans have a high deductible, it can save on office visits since often there is an agreed price for office visits and if a major problem happens, you are covered. It seems to me that these people are setting the priority of their health much less than anything else, including eating out, going to movies, buying fun toys, drinking, etc.

It seems that most people who do this assume that nothing will ever happen to them since they are young and healthy, but this can quickly change. It is quite a gamble. It might be that you will pay more in health insurance than you ever get back, but if you ever have a serious problem then you can lose big time. Also, since you don't have health insurance you will most likely have to go to a county hospital. A friend broke his leg a while ago and ended up in the County hospital. While I did not make there to visit him, I others friends did and that can be a scary place, not to mention dangerous. In this case they have metal detectors to prevent gang members from bringing in weapons to kill people. The service you get, especially needed after care, can be seriously lacking. This alone is good reason to carry health insurance.

There are many illnesses which young people can get and you never see it coming. Once you are sick, just try to get health insurance.