Do You Have Enough Health Insurance? Resources To Help Underinsured
If you have health insurance, either through an employer or one of the many individual health plans, it’s possible that you still don’t have enough coverage! Roxanne Patel Sheplavy exposes the new health trend in the February 2009 issue of Fitness magazine: more Americans than ever are underinsured. The Commonwealth Fund defines being “underinsured” as spending 5-10% of your income on out-of-pocket expenses, including skyrocketing deductibles and extremely expensive co-payments that may prevent individuals from recieving essential medications or care. One in seven adults in 2007 fell in this category, and in this economy even more employers and insurers are cutting back on what their health insurance policies cover.
Fortunately, Roxanne stresses that there are resources available to help the underinsured before they are burdened by medical debt (believe it or not, three-quarters of medical bankruptcies involve individuals and families that had insurance!). These organizations may be able to assist you in paying your bills, renegotiating payments, or whatever else you need to handle your medical expenses.
Where To Go If You Are Underinsured:
- Co-Pay Relief
- Healthwell Foundation
- Patient Services Incorporated
- Patient Access Network Foundation
- CancerCare
