Health Insurance And Car Wrecks
I bought my first car when I was 17 years old. I had the standard coverage on the car, but to keep the cost of the premiums low, I opted for high deductibles. Honestly, I figured Id never need the coverage because I was a good driver and I was very cautious and conscientious when I drove.
One night I was on my way to a friends house. The road I was on was really busy during the day, but at night there weren't many cars on it. As I was driving in the center lane of the three-lane highway, a car came up beside me on the right and started to move into my lane. I beeped my horn and moved to the far left lane, next to the median wall. We drove a short distance, and again that car tried to move into my lane right where I was! I tried to avoid getting hit by that car, and I ended up hitting the median wall instead. As my car spun out of control, I saw that car drive away. I ended up spinning through all three lanes. The guardrail I hit kept me from going off the right side of the road.
I called the police immediately, and then I called my mom. She called the insurance company to report the accident for me. She got a claim number to use in case I had to go to the emergency room, which I decided was a good idea because I was hurt and shaken up.
Someone in the emergency room asked us asked about our insurance coverage to pay the costs. I told them I only had the car insurance to cover me. My mom had been out of work for a while and was only working from home. We didn't have a regular health insurance plan. The nurse told me if we had health insurance coverage, then whatever my car insurance didn't pay, including my deductible, then my health insurance would cover that amount, minus my emergency room co-pay. That was something I didn't know. Back when my mom had health insurance coverage, the emergency room co-pay was $100. My car insurance deductible was $1,000. Because I didn't have health insurance coverage, my cost for the hospital emergency room visit was ten times what it would have been if I did have it.
Today I'm covered by a good health insurance policy at the company where I work. If you have to pay out of pocket to see a doctor or buy a prescription, the cost may not be too much. In that case, being without insurance isn't too much of a risk. However, a trip to the emergency room could be very expensive, and that's what health insurance really is for. If I can help it, I don't ever want to find myself without health insurance coverage again.
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