Protect your Health and Finances with Cheap and Affordable Health Insurance

Health insurance is a way to protect an individual's health and finances in the future by paying monthly investments to an insurance company. In return, when an individual's need health care,health insurance companies cover all or part of healthcare cost depending upon his/her plan. Over the years, health insurance has evolved from a luxury to an employer-provided benefit to now becoming an essential requirement. Health insurance in current times has become a necessity because it makes possible for the average American to afford healthcare without going bankrupt.

It is a fact Americans having health insurance seek treatment in case if they experience any health issues. With preventive healthcare fully covered under the health plan, people don't have to worry about the preventative care cost. Those people visit their doctor for regular checkups that help them spot problems early while they are treatable. Therefore, having health insurance is a vital step that not only protects people's health but also their finances.

Despite understanding the essence of health insurance in life, most Americans skip having it because of the exorbitant price of health insurance. Thus, to make health insurance affordable for every American, the Affordable Care Act was designed that considerably reduced the price of health insurance and made it affordable for the people. The Affordable Care Act is a healthcare reform law enacted in 2010 to increase health coverage for the uninsured and implement reforms in the health insurance market. The Affordable Care Act was a tremendous step taken toward meaningful reform of the health system.

It was only due to the Affordable Care Act that Americans who were uninsured due to preexisting conditions or limited finances were able to obtain cheap and affordable health plans through the marketplace in their state. Health insurance carriers were neither allowed to deny coverage to individuals having pre-existing health conditions nor were they allowed to charge an extra amount.

Americans have different health insurance options and they can purchase a plan through different government programs or private health insurance providers. Right from private care health plans to government-sponsored public options, Americans have diverse options to choose from. People while shopping for health insurance plans through health insurance exchange also get the option to search for the best plan and compare health plans offered by multiple companies to buy a cheap health plan.

However, the cheapest health insurance option for Americans is Medicaid, though this plan is only available for individuals whose household income is less than 133% or 138% of the federal poverty level. The exact eligibility for a Medicaid plan depends on the state in which the individual lives. Individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid coverage can purchase cheap private individual health plans through their state marketplace that provide comprehensive coverage for all of the ten essential health benefits.

To allow people to purchase cheap individual health insurance, the U.S. health insurance sector has categorized health plans into different metal categories like Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Depending upon their budget and healthcare requirements, individuals can shop for a particular category of the metal plan. Americans who wish to purchase health plans having the lowest monthly premiums will prefer Bronze metal plans.

Though this plan will turn out to be cheap and affordable only for individuals who are young and healthy and who rarely need to visit a doctor. This is because these low monthly premium plans have higher out-of-pocket costs, thus individuals expecting large medical expenses in the coming year will eventually have to pay a huge amount in out-of-pocket expenses. The private individual health plan categorization is the same for residents of all the U.S. states. Thus, irrespective of whether one is residing in Texas, California, Florida, or Alabama, plans categorization in different metals be the same.

Summary - Health insurance was not always a necessity for Americans but with time and some major healthcare reforms, people have understood the significance of health coverage in their lives. The uninsured rate in the U.S. has considerably reduced since the coming of the Affordable Care Act, with more and more people enrolling for cheap and affordable plans.