Do you find yourself in need to buy individual health insurance? If so, then you know firsthand just how expensive it can be.
You have no employer to subsidize your premiums.
Unfortunately, health insurance is a necessary evil that the majority of people cannot do without.
Unless you are one of the lucky people in this world who never falls ill enough to need medical attention, is not or has not ever been pregnant, or has ever needed to be hospitalized, then health insurance is a part of your monthly budget that you just cannot evade.
Since health insurance is a privatized industry, with relatively lax government regulation, we are left to fend for ourselves against these gargantuan behemoths.
Unfortunately there isn't a universal, one-size-fits-all health insurance plan in the United States.
Instead, we have an industry littered with thousands of different health insurance plans that vary across many different dimensions.
There are thousands of health insurance plans available, each with their own unique peculiarities.
Some will cover pre-existing conditions.
Some will not.
Some will cover pregnancies.
Some will not.
Some will cover prescriptions.
Some will not.
Some offer varying premiums depending on how much of a deductible you are willing to pay.
Some require copays.
Some do not.
Some vary the copays depending on how much of a premium you are willing to pay.
Some offer full coverage for everything.
And then there is coinsurance.
One way or the other, either the health insurance company or your health care provider will find a way to will reach into your wallet and take your money, whether you pay a deductible or not.