Finding Great Insurance

If you're a young adult and you're in good health, you may be wondering if you even need to purchase health insurance. If you never need to see the doctor anyway, you may feel that purchasing insurance won't give you any benefit—you'll end up paying the monthly premiums and never using it. Even if you think you won't need it, it's still a very good idea for healthy young adults to carry health insurance, as it can help you maintain your health while providing coverage for any emergencies that arise. To learn why young adults in good health should still have insurance, read on.

You'll Have Better Access to Preventive Care

One of the most important and most obvious reasons for healthy young adults to carry health insurance is that it helps keep you healthy. Preventive care services such as an annual physical and routine blood draws are much less expensive when you're covered by insurance. Paying for lab fees for routine screenings is much more expensive out-of-pocket than paying the co-pay when you have health insurance.

Making use of these benefits and seeking preventive care helps preserve your health, whereas you're much less likely to seek out preventive care services when you're required to pay high out-of-pocket fees.

You'll Be Covered if You Do Incur High Medical Bills

Even healthy young adults can face high medical bills, and health insurance helps protect you financially. Appendicitis, for example, can come from seemingly nowhere and results in high medical bills—you'll need to pay emergency department fees and the surgical fees for an appendectomy along with the fees for your hospital stay while you recover from surgery.

Medical costs can stack up quickly when you're uninsured, and you'll have to either get a payment plan with the hospital or declare bankruptcy. A payment plan means you're making high monthly payments for a very long time afterward, and bankruptcy makes it difficult to finance a car, rent an apartment, or purchase a home. Health insurance protects your financial future in the event you end up having a health emergency.

You Won't Have to Base Medical Decisions on Your Finances

Finally, being covered by health insurance means that you don't have to weigh your financial situation against your need for medical attention. Delaying treatment due to a lack of money can result in medical conditions progressively worsening, which means you'll often end up saving money overall seeking treatment sooner rather than later. Health insurance allows you to seek treatment as soon as possible by giving you low co-pays to see your primary care physician, enabling early diagnosis of medical conditions.

Ultimately, it's still a good idea for healthy young adults to carry health insurance even if you think you won't use it. The fact that you'll have better access to preventive care and lower co-pays to see your primary care physician means that it's easier for you to maintain your health, and you'll be covered in the event that you receive high medical bills from a health emergency. In addition, health insurance plans for healthy young adults are typically inexpensive—if you shop around online, you'll most often be able to find a carrier with monthly premiums that you're able to afford.