Health Insurance Articles
What To Know About Health Insurance Policy Cancellations
2010-07-17
Illness is inevitable; the question is not "if" it will occur, but "when" medical intervention will be necessary. If providence is kind, a serious illness may not occur. However, it is responsible to undergo regular medical evaluations to ensure longevity and preserve good health. These consultations and medical procedures are more accessible and affordable with a good comprehensive health insurance coverage that indemnifies the policy owner from resulting financial consequences. Despite the economic recession, the decision to cancel a health insurance policy demands careful consideration. Before a policy cancellation, policyholders should realize that, although the premiums may be significant, they are an investment in the future.
In an attempt to save money, some people may consider health insurance unnecessary, cancel their health insurance coverage, and risk being uninsured. The most compelling reason to reconsider cancellation is that when a medical emergency or accident occurs, the financial burden will be the patient's responsibility. Medical care is one of the most exponentially increasing expenses today. Therefore, the policyholder's age, sex, health status, and ethnicity are viable considerations. For example, Black and Hispanic adults, especially males over the age of 45 with excess weight and who do not exercise regularly are prime candidates for myocardial infarctions according to statistics. The medical expenses for open heart surgery and the accompanying hospitalization could translate into an expenditure of $200, 000 or more, exhaust savings and assets, and even result in bankruptcy. However, a good health insurance policy will pay most or all of the cost for treatment, and even replace some lost income if the proper riders are in place. The consequences are not worth the risk of being uninsured.
Even if the client doesn't fit this profile, and is in exemplary health, accidents happen to good people. It is impossible to avoid or foresee every conceivable accident, not simply automobile accidents. Some people boast that they have not seen a physician in years, but unexpectedly develop an aneurysm, stroke, hypertension, or other serious illness.
Health insurance coverage can be rescinded or canceled if there are inaccuracies or critical omissions on the medical history. However, coverage cannot be canceled on the basis of age, ethnicity, or discriminatory reasons. In this case any excess premiums are returned and coverage is canceled.
Admittedly, if a policy is canceled, the patient can be treated at a certain hospitals in an emergency. However, without insurance, the patient is stabilized and released. Policy cancellations leave the uninsured vulnerable and at the mercy of time and fate. Unequivocally, illness and accident, the corresponding need for medical or preventative care, metaphorically knocks at everyone's door.
