In the US, reading the statistics of Americans without their health insurance is startling. According to Huffington Post, this 2012, almost 50 million Americans are living without health plans. This is different from years ago. And why does this happen? This is because there are lots of Americans today that don’t have jobs or cannot find stable jobs that can let them have the luxury of paying for their health plans. In some families, paying for their home rent is even a problem. So, is it still possible to secure health insurance for low income families and individuals while in the midst of the crisis? Yes, it is still possible according to experts. We only need to know where to find it.
Health insurance for low income people are actually out there. Unfortunately, some of us know only few of them while other people don’t know how to tap them well. But as we have said, these resources are already here. So in this article we have gathered the most possible sources that we can tap to get almost the same benefits that low premium insurance plans can provide.
Below are the best possible options in place of securing health insurance for low income people.
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- COBRA. This is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. If you are out of job, you can try applying for COBRA and if you will be eligible you can continue your previous companies’ health insurance through this process. This is better than finding a new health insurance plan but there is a possibility that you may pay higher premium for it.
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- Workers’ compensation. If you are employed and your job is risky, inquire from your employer if you are under the Workers’ Compensation program. You can have injury compensations if you get injured during your work.
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- Medicaid. Even if you are employed, better apply for Medicaid especially if you belong to the low income bracket. Medicaid can help you pay your health care expenses or some of it if you can’t afford to pay for it. Medicaid exists through federal and state partnership and was designed to help low income families, disabled and old people with their medical expenses. You can also apply your family to Medicaid because this is an opportunity that your state provides to those who can’t afford paying for regular health insurance plans.
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- Medicare. This is an option that comes from the government and being administered by the Social Security administration. If you are unemployed or don’t have a regular employment and with a family, you can try enrolling yourselves and your family to Medicare especially if you are getting Social Security benefits. For those who are sixty-five years old or even older, they are most eligible to be under the Medicare programs.
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- State High Risk State Insurance Pools. All of us do have health problems sometimes and unfortunately when we have pre-existing medical conditions we are usually denied coverage by health insurance companies. If you are denied of such privilege and did not qualify for COBRA while getting health insurance for low income individuals can also be a problem, you can rely on high risk state insurance pools. You can inquire from your city administrators or community hospitals where you can apply for this option. You may still pay premium for the plan but at least this can answer your medical cost even you have pre-existing health conditions.
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- Short Term Health Insurance Coverage. This is an appropriate option for low income individuals who don’t have regular jobs or just starting to work on their new jobs. This is much like individual insurance policies but in this option you will only be under the coverage for short period of time. You only pay low premium with this one and while you are at it you can find time examining the viability of this insurance company if this could be the right choice for your long-term insurance coverage.
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- Group Health Insurance. If you are a member of an organization and without the health insurance, you can encourage your group to apply for a group insurance. With this type of insurance, you can choose from various insurance options how you want to be covered. The nice thing about being insured as a group is that you pay lower rates because your premium is scattered among your members. You may not get large benefit from it like what individual insurance plans can provide but at least you are also secured and have something to rely on. If you don’t have a group you can also search for organizations online that accept individuals for their group health insurance.
- Group Sharing On Health Expenses. Basically, this is not a type of health insurance for low income people but it is a logical option for those who want financial support during medical crisis. This system works in simple process. You form a group and pool your money and deposit this money to the bank so that you are your own insurance health group. When one of you needed the expenses due to health concerns, the money can be used to support the individual’s medical expenses and he pays when he can be able to work. Religious groups usually do this but this can only be viable if there lots of people who will provide contributions.
With all these given options, providing health insurance for low income individuals is always possible. If all of us would realize the things we can get from these options, we don’t need to worry so much anymore. Getting confined in the hospital or treated with serious injuries without the health insurance is simply unimaginable so the only thing that we can do four ourselves is to rely on these options which equate the benefits provided by health insurance for low income people.