Health insurance is a requirement for families, and it is especially important for families with young children. The cost of coverage can keep some families from even investigating the possibility of securing health insurance. This can lead to higher costs down the road because preventative health care will not be performed and issues that could have been resolved rather easily will grow into more severe problems. Income sensitive families do have options available for coverage; affordable health insurance is offered through other outlets, like government programs and as a part of an employer benefits package.
The average cost for a family of four to secure private health insurance can run into the tens of thousands of dollars a year, making the monthly costs unaffordable for families that are struggling to make ends meet. These families will typically forego the coverage, skipping routine physicals and well-child checks because the costs of an office visit are outside of the range of their ability to pay. There are ways for these families to find coverage that will significantly lower the costs. For example, many employers offer insurance as part of the benefits package that anyone who works a certain number of hours a week can qualify for. There is still a cost to the employee of being on the policy, but the cost is generally much lower than it would be for the family if they were trying to get the policy on their own. Many companies can get the lower rates simply because of the number of employees they bring to the table; the insurance companies are willing to negotiate a lower rate when the company is providing a stable source of potential insured customers.
Not every employer offers insurance, however. For individuals who do not have employment or who do not work for a company with that kind of benefit, there are government insurance plans that can help. Children can be covered through a CHIP program that is provided at the state level, and others may qualify for additional government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid.
The costs of healthcare coverage are rising year over year, and health insurance helps consumers absorb some of that through the network of discounts that an insurance company is given and that an individual would not receive. Securing affordable health insurance may appear to be out of reach for many income sensitive families, given the rates that are available through the major insurance carriers. There are alternate ways to obtain coverage for those families, through government programs and through employers that can bring the costs of the coverage more in line with the needs of income sensitive families.
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