Personal Finance Advice

Insurance can protect you in the event of a potentially costly emergency. Car insurance will help you repair or replace your vehicle if you are in a collision, renters insurance will provide you with the money necessary to replace items damaged or stolen in a home or apartment that you rent, and health insurance helps pay for the costs associated with medical care. There are plenty of different insurance policies available for a variety of needs, and any review of your personal finances should include a thorough review to make sure your insurance needs are sufficiently met.

What happens when you can’t afford insurance? Some financial experts make the argument that people cannot afford to not have adequate insurance because of the financial problems that can result from getting into an accident without insurance or some other unexpected instance that should be covered by an insurance policy. On the other hand, if a family is already struggling to make ends meet, they have to pick and choose what expenses they can afford and what expenses are just too costly. If the choice is between paying the rent or paying health insurance premiums, most families are going to choose to keep a roof over their heads instead of paying an insurance premium, no matter how important it is to have insurance in place.

Make no mistake about it; insurance is an important expense and should be high on your list of financial priorities. If you are in a tight financial situation, it is usually a better idea to reduce your coverage instead of getting rid of it entirely. For some people, raising the deductible or lowering the coverage is sufficient to make the insurance affordable during a temporary financial setback, but coverage should be brought back up to adequate levels once the financial emergency subsides.

This isn’t an option for some people who simply cannot afford to purchase insurance at all. If it is simply impossible to squeeze your budget tightly enough to cover the cost of monthly insurance premiums for health or dental insurance, consider these alternatives:

Get help. There are assistance programs available for people who cannot afford health coverage. Some states offer impressive programs -mainly for children- that ensure people get preventative and routine care despite their inability to pay for the services. If you cannot afford health care, look into the federal, state, and local assistance programs that may be available to you and the rest of the people in your family.

Buy a discount plan. Dental and vision discount plans are popular as both replacements for costly insurance or as additional coverage for people who have coverage but with high deductibles. With these plans, you pay a small annual or monthly fee and then receive substantial discounts for care when you use an in-network provider. Some discount plans are better than others, so be sure to do some comparison shopping before settling on one company over another.

Ask for a payment plan. If you know that you will wind up paying for health care out of your own pocket, ask about paying in installments. Some medical providers are more than happy to discount the cost of services for patients paying cash, and some will further reduce the cost of services based on the patient’s income. There are many hospitals with staff designated to assist people who do not have insurance and who need help with figuring out a way to pay medical bills, so utilize these people if they are available.

Don’t skip needed health care just because you cannot afford to pay medical insurance premiums every month because this may wind up being an even costlier situation if your health deteriorates from lack of medical care.