Health Insurance Is Not Healthcare

Health insurance and health care are so closely intertwined that people often see them as the same thing. But it’s vital to start seeing them as completely separate. It’s not the doctor or the hospital or the treatment. It needs to be seen from the financial perspective, because health insurance is really a financial safety net.

Consider some of the statistics looking at the intersection of healthcare and finance:

• Two out of every three bankruptcies in the United States result from medical issues, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
• In a national survey, almost 30% of American adults reported that they delayed or neglected their healthcare because of its cost, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported.
• More than half of all Americans don’t understand the financial terms associated with health insurance, such as premiums, deductibles, and copays, according to the Alliance for Health Reform.

Together, those studies indicate that the monetary aspects of health insurance are complicated but vital to both personal health and financial security. Health insurance can be one of the biggest pieces of a household’s budget, and so people need to think carefully about it.

Your financial wellness includes your health insurance, but people don’t sit down and think about their health insurance costs in the same way they do with other expenses. People know their income and expenses like rent and car payments and the cellphone bill, but healthcare is complicated and scary and therefore it gets ignored. There is a disconnect here, but it should be a conversation families have.

That conversation should start with a thorough and honest look at what the household’s medical needs are likely to be. From there, look at what the household can afford to spend. Then the goal should be to find healthcare plans that will provide access to the care needed and at the most affordable cost.

The problem is that the health insurance marketplace is a challenging, ever-changing environment, making selecting those coverage options a daunting task. Consumers should look for a trusted navigator with a core competency in health insurance and efficient, customer-focused tools.

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About KindHealth

KindHealth is an insurance discovery platform launched in 2015 and based in Austin, Texas, founded by entrepreneur team Albert Pomales, Andrew Tomasik, Mark Adams and John Constantine. KindHealth’s platform is powered by cutting-edge AI technology which recommends the best insurance strategy to protect consumers’ financial risk, and provide the best coverage for their needs. Visit https://www.kindhealth.co/