Your Options if Your Employer Does Not Offer Health Insurance

When your employer doesn't offer healthcare it can be important to find an individual or family policy to fit your needs. Although health insurance isn't mandatory it does help to have it if you ever need it.

Healthcare is something that many people see as a luxury because of its expense. They hope to find a job that includes it so they don't have to worry when something happens that makes them need a doctor. However, it is important to have some type of coverage for these occasions because a hospital stay can be overwhelming to the finances if you are without it.

You do have options however and here are a few:

Individual or family plans

There are a variety of health insurance plans that you can purchase depending on our needs. There are Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) who provide managed care. These plans work on the fact that several people come together to form a "membership" so they can receive lower healthcare costs because of it. You can find plans like these from providers like Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They usually have a cost up front called a "deductible" that you must pay before the plan starts to pay part of your premium.

Group options

If you belong to a professional group you may be able to find a discounted healthcare insurance through them. As an example The Writers Guild, National Counseling Association and other types of groups may offer a health insurance plan. Also, check with clubs that you belong to or small business organizations. Any of these may have a plan that is less costly than purchasing insurance on your own. Also, check to see if your fraternal organizations or sororities offer this option.

Discount Programs

Although these are not insurance, they sometimes have great discounts that you can use and they have participating doctors and other healthcare professionals who will offer the discount. Usually the discount is somewhere between 20% and 50% on routine services. You will have to pay for each visit at the time of the visit in order to receive the discount.

When you are looking for a plan it is important to look for the benefits you need. Many will cover healthcare but they may not include dental. If you need dental a discount program may work in addition to health insurance because you would at least get a discount on it.

What to Do

No one can tell you exactly what to do but we can tell you that it is important to make sure that you get what you need and that it is an affordable plan. Most plans will look at your age, any health challenges you already have your lifestyle and your overall needs to decide the amount of the premium. Some will not pay for conditions that you already had before you chose the insurance. However, make sure that you get what you need, consider your alternatives and know exactly what you are getting before you buy.

Get Free Health Insurance Quotes Now