There are several obvious pros and cons to not paying for health insurance
when you are young and healthy. The first pro is not having to pay the cost for
insurance benefits that you may or may not use; the costs of medical, eye, and
dental insurance all vary depending on the place that you work and the size of
the company- if you are employed- which means that the cost of insurance
may be astronomical. If you make “too much” then there isn’t an option to get
more affordable coverage through government programs such as Medicaid;
this means that you are left spending a large amount of your paycheck on
insurance coverage that you may not even use. When you don’t have health
insurance, you are less likely to utilize services and ultimately are more likely
to spend less on out of pocket services (Institute of Medicine, 2003). There
was a tax penalty under the Affordable Care Act, but Trump repealed that act
so individuals do not have to worry about a federal penalty for not having
insurance (Williams, 2021). However, certain states have penalties for not
being insured so individuals need to be aware of their state legislation.
The obvious con of not having medical insurance is that if some accident were
to occur and you needed medical care you would have to pay out of pocket
because you would have no insurance coverage. Hypothetically, if the
accident were extensive and you ended up in the ICU in coma for weeks or
months and you finally managed to come out of it, then you would eventually
find yourself with a bill you cannot pay. Not only would you have to deal with
hospital collections on top of not being paid for the time you were out of work,
but you would likely go broke trying to pay your medical bills. If the situation
progressed to the point where you could not pay your bills, then the less
noticeable con of not having insurance comes into play- insurance companies
and healthcare facilities or practitioners have to absorb those costs. This means
that costs of tests, procedures, and treatments may increase, and insurance
costs for everyone who does have coverage increases to cover the costs of
those who are uninsured and/or do not pay (Institute of Medicine, 2003).
Another con is that if one is seeking private or specialty care, the practitioners
can refuse the patient for not having insurance. Something that likely is not on
the forefront of the minds of those who are young and healthy, is the fact that
by not having medical insurance and going for regular checkups i.e. dental
cleanings, yearly physicals, these individuals are missing out on preventative
services that could ultimately help them live longer, healthier lives.
References
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance.
(2003). Hidden costs, values lost: Uninsurance in America. National
Academies Press.
Williams, T. (2021, September 27). Don't have Health Insurance? what's The
worst that could happen? Investopedia. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/120815/dont-have-
health-insurance-whats-worst-could-happen.asp
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