Page 50 - Book5E

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Maintaining Appropriate Levels of Health Insurance
• People without insurance were more likely to forego recom- mended health screenings such as mammograms than those with coverage, and were less likely to have a regular doctor than their insured counterparts.
• The percentage of individuals earning less than $20,000 a year without insurance rose to 53%, up from 49% in 2001. Overall, the percentage of people without insurance rose to 28% in 2005 from 24% in 2001.
• Fifty-nine percent of uninsured with chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes either skipped a dose of their medicine or went without it to save money. One-third of those in that group visited an emergency room or stayed in a hospital overnight or did both, compared to 15% of their insured counterparts.
• The cost for a visit to the doctor prevented 41.1% of uninsured adults from seeing a doctor, compared to 9.2% of individuals with coverage.
• Fifty-one percent of women without health insurance haven’t had a mammogram in two years, compared to 22.8% of women with insurance.
• Twenty-one percent of the adults surveyed between August and January had unpaid medical bills.
(Source: MSNBC News Services, April 26, 2006)
With all the varieties of insurance today—health insurance, life insurance, homeowners insurance, car insurance—it’s safe to assume that health coverage is one type of insurance we’re all pretty much guaranteed to use. We all need medical attention from time to time, and some of us need it quite frequently. When care is needed, you want to focus on getting better—not on how you’re going to come up with the money to pay your medical bills. A good health insurance plan allows you to focus on what is most important—your physical well-being.