Health insurance...ridiculous for 25 y/o non-smoker/drinker?

[pbkmaine]

The purpose of any kind of insurance is to cover you for very expensive low probability events. It does this by spreading risk over many lives. Is it likely that you will NEED any kind of insurance in the next year? No. But if you do need it, not having it just might wipe you out financially.

...  And having it could very well wipe you out financially.  If I have a multi-year cancer diagnosis, how exactly are you supposed to pay your insurance premiums?  FMLA only lasts so long.  COBRA is ridiculously expensive.  If I were to get cancer, we would become financially destitute after 6 months anyways, so whats the point?  If you're screwed either way, then why pay for it?

In all the places I worked, I would have been out on disability, not FMLA, and my insurance would have been covered.

[CindyBS]

The purpose of any kind of insurance is to cover you for very expensive low probability events. It does this by spreading risk over many lives. Is it likely that you will NEED any kind of insurance in the next year? No. But if you do need it, not having it just might wipe you out financially.

...  And having it could very well wipe you out financially.  If I have a multi-year cancer diagnosis, how exactly are you supposed to pay your insurance premiums?  FMLA only lasts so long.  COBRA is ridiculously expensive.  If I were to get cancer, we would become financially destitute after 6 months anyways, so whats the point?  If you're screwed either way, then why pay for it?

Because you may not be the person in your family that gets cancer, one of your other family members might.   

Keep in mind if you or another family member get cancer it will be like a bomb going off in your life.  It touches everything.  So, you can get hit with the diagnosis followed by a sigh of relief that you have insurance that will cover it virtually all of it.  Or, you can follow your plan which is to get hit with the diagnosis and then go into financial free fall worrying about money while doing everything you can to try to save a loved one.  Crying yourself to sleep wondering if you loved one will survive sucks.  I can't even imagine doing it while panicking about money too. 

Perhaps take the word of me and the other posters that have actually have dealt with this.  Everyone needs health insurance.

[hops]

The purpose of any kind of insurance is to cover you for very expensive low probability events. It does this by spreading risk over many lives. Is it likely that you will NEED any kind of insurance in the next year? No. But if you do need it, not having it just might wipe you out financially.

...  And having it could very well wipe you out financially.  If I have a multi-year cancer diagnosis, how exactly are you supposed to pay your insurance premiums?  FMLA only lasts so long.  COBRA is ridiculously expensive.  If I were to get cancer, we would become financially destitute after 6 months anyways, so whats the point?  If you're screwed either way, then why pay for it?

Because you may not be the person in your family that gets cancer, one of your other family members might.   

Keep in mind if you or another family member get cancer it will be like a bomb going off in your life.  It touches everything.  So, you can get hit with the diagnosis followed by a sigh of relief that you have insurance that will cover it virtually all of it.  Or, you can follow your plan which is to get hit with the diagnosis and then go into financial free fall worrying about money while doing everything you can to try to save a loved one.  Crying yourself to sleep wondering if you loved one will survive sucks.  I can't even imagine doing it while panicking about money too. 

Perhaps take the word of me and the other posters that have actually have dealt with this.  Everyone needs health insurance.

What amazes me is even some people who are very familiar with the consequences still opt not to get health insurance. On one side of my family there's a genetic mutation strongly associated with certain types of cancer. We've lost a lot of relatives to this and also have a lot who've survived. I can name three who lost their parents to cancer but elected to remain uninsured themselves. One died quite painfully of a cancer that would've been highly treatable if he'd been diagnosed sooner, but since he wasn't insured he didn't go to the hospital until the end was near. Another's terminally ill; I'm not sure if he also had a delayed diagnosis. The third survived. He and his wife lost their business, their home, and eventually their marriage.

[KarefulKactus15]

This threads a downer !

[goldensam]

My annual health care expenses were low until 2017 when I needed three surgeries adding up to over $250k. I am so grateful for my health insurance because that would have devastated me financially. Get the insurance.

[Viking Thor]

There are lots of things that could devastate you financially even if the medical situation is resolved.

Short term hospitalization, medications, etc. I know someone in good health that depends on a medication that would be $80k per year without insurance. Their health is fine as long as they take the medication 1x per month, but they need to take it for the rest of their life. As I understand there are some medications significantly costlier than that even.

Going without medical insurance is an enormous risk.

[Jon Bon]

Blah blah blah everyone gets cancer at age 25!!!

Seriously though I dont know if it is an option but the HSA is 100% the plan for the OP. Basically the cost is bore mostly by you (you at least get insurance negotiated rates)  But you get to keep a larger portion of your premiums and all of the contributions. Basically its a 401k for your health! 

I have zero knowledge of how the ACA works but is anything like this available for the OP? Or is it not because you dont pay enough into the system to help carry others?

[rantk81]

My opinion:  Even for a young/healthy/non-smoker, paying $180/mo for an individual plan to cap your potential medical expenditures in a year to around 6K or 7K is well worth it.  If it were an employer sponsored plan, I would think it was a really shitty benefit from a stingy employer... But if you're paying 100% for the whole premium yourself, it's a pretty good price.