4. Long Term
A cheaper monthly payment may be attractive now, but if it means that in the future you will
have big expenses because of what is and is not covered, then it is not a good deal. There
are plans out there that cover what you need now for prevention and don’t run out when you
need them most in the future if something bad happens. Examples of plans that may lead to
future hardships include a plan that offers a low annual maximum of $100,000 that would
not likely pay enough in a year to cover an extremely serious medical problem. Or a low
lifetime maximum ($500,000 to $1 Million) that might stop paying twenty years down the
road after you’ve had a serious ongoing medical condition for many years and infl ation has
more than quadrupled the current costs of treatment.
5. As Promised
You are buying a plan that is supposed to pay for what it says, but sometimes you don’t get
what you pay for. It’s important to choose a plan from a company that values quality and
pays claims promptly and fully. You can ensure this by buying from a company of quality
and checking out the complaints against any particular insurer with your state. Chapter 7
covers evaluating the quality of the insurance companies and the complaints against the
companies.
6. Easy to Use
A good deal means that you don’t have to continually fi le paperwork, deal with claim rejections
and inquiries, and pay for medical expenses with little hope that you’ll get reimbursed – often getting paid late if at all.
All of the factors involved in a good deal must be considered – both what you get as well as
how much it costs. Remember, it’s the best deal for you, not someone else.
Why You Need Health Insurance
For some people there is no question about it: you must have health insurance. When casually
asking my friends, who are unhappy at their jobs, why they stay, the number one response
is that they are staying in order to keep the health insurance – even though they and
their families are healthy. For others, they may want health insurance but feel that it is always
out of their grasp financially. Over the years, I have known people who take the risk and do not get
health insurance, simply because of the cost of individual health insurance plans. For example, young, single people just starting out, working for a small company, would rather pay for the one visit to the doctor out of pocket or simply not go to the doctor at all and don’t buy insurance.
