Health insurance is a health benefit plan that safeguards individuals and families from high and unexpected medical costs. It helps reduce medical costs, making healthcare more accessible and affordable. Health insurance covers preventive services such as wellness visits, vaccines, and screenings, which help people stay healthy and avoid future health problems. The impact of having health insurance is even greater for the most serious illnesses, as it helps you avoid large medical debts and protects your financial assets.
Without health insurance, the cost of many prescription drugs would be exorbitant financially and beyond the reach of millions of Americans. Health insurance continues to play the role of distributing risk, even though it increasingly funds routine care. Health insurance also has a psychological effect on people who don't have it. They may feel, for example, that their lack of insurance is some kind of defect on their part, a message to society that they cannot afford health insurance or that they are irresponsible for not having it. Health insurance has multiple purposes, including promoting health, obtaining medical care for individuals and families, and financially protecting individuals from the exceptional costs of health care. With health insurance, it's much easier for the patient and provider to focus on prevention and well-being, as well as the treatment of acute and chronic diseases, which translates into better health outcomes and reduced costs.
For individuals and families, health insurance improves access to health services and offers financial protection against high costs that are relatively unlikely to be incurred, as well as against those that are more modest but not yet affordable for some. From the perspective of healthcare providers, the insurance offered by their patients helps ensure an income stream, and communities benefit from stable and financially viable health professionals and institutions. In addition to performing the typical functions of risk insurance, health insurance has been developed as a mechanism for financing or prepaying for a variety of health care benefits. Young adults (ages 19 to 34) in poor health are particularly vulnerable to not having health insurance; 16 percent are uninsured and 27 percent of those who report a regular state of health are uninsured. This highlights the importance of having access to affordable health insurance. In summary, having access to health insurance is essential for individuals and families in order to stay healthy and financially secure. Health insurance helps reduce medical costs, making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
It also provides financial protection against high costs that are relatively unlikely to be incurred. Finally, it helps ensure an income stream for healthcare providers and communities benefit from stable and financially viable health professionals and institutions.
