Today, most of us get a health insurance plan through our employers. However, individual health insurance is the best way to get insurance coverage if you aren’t eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance plans or if the coverage of your employer’s plan is limited.
As per a recent survey, today’s millennial generation has the highest rate of uninsured individuals, and some of the primary reasons for being uninsured includes:
– Not knowing how to enroll for health insurance,
– Not having time to compare and choose the right health insurance plans,
– Not feeling informed enough about various health insurance options.
But going without proper health insurance or choosing a plan which doesn’t meet your medical requirements could lead to expensive and unexpected health care costs. For purchasing any health insurance plans, understanding what options are available and which one to choose them is crucial.
Many individuals in their 20s might feel they are healthy and could skip health insurance. When you seldom visit a doctor, and particularly when you aren’t financially independent, cutting the health insurance cost from your budget could seem like a good idea.
You might feel that paying for the medical expenses as you go is better than worrying about the insurance premiums and the co-payments on the way. If you take good care of your health, you might not see the need for health insurance. However, missing that last step of the stair and dislocating an ankle, or breaking an arm while riding a bike could cause an injury that can costs you lakhs of rupees, and which could quickly climb higher if you require surgery or any kind of long term rehabilitation. Medical emergencies are expensive. If you undergo a medical emergency without proper health insurance, it’s easy to find yourself with a massive amount of debt, and no way out. Therefore, it’s important for individuals to always have health insurance.
You might not also be able to work while you’re laid up in a hospital, and that implies that you might lose out on your pay as well. Even with insurance, you might find it tough to pay for the health care costs in such circumstances. It’s very tough to pay for the medical costs without proper health insurance plans.
Being in the 20s or early ’30s could be an exciting phase in anyone’s life. It’s that part of one’s life where individuals live life on their terms. Many of us start living on our own, looking for a better livelihood. People explore and experiment, take various decisions, which at times go well and at times don’t. This stage of life is full of energy and often unstoppable.
This stage of life is also the building block for the future, and that’s why some crucial decisions like taking care of health are a must for ensuring a better life as one grows old. And choosing the right health insurance is something one must consider while they are young as it provides numerous benefits:
Lower starting premium – Premium in a health insurance plan is based upon the risk related to a buyer. Higher the risk, higher would be the premium amount; hence health insurance premiums tend to be less when you opt for it at an early stage.
Better financial planning & tax savings – Buying health insurance early not just means cheap premium but makes better financial sense too. Early health insurance helps you to save your earnings from unfortunate events and invest it in furtherance of your career. Also, it helps you to cut down your tax outgo.
A wider range of options to choose from – When applying for health coverage early in your life, chances are that you would be able to choose from a wide range of options concerning types of policies.
The success of Application – As an adult in 20s or 30s, the chances of your health insurance application being accepted are high, and with all the chips in your favor, there’s no better time to invest in a health insurance plan than now.
Plan ahead for a secured future
No one can predict the future and we rarely have any control over its wayward ways. While you’re young, you could have a somewhat unruly approach towards your life, however, it’s always advisable to keep yourself well-equipped for the future. It’s always prudent to take health insurance while you are young.
