Health Insurance for Unemployed People

Remember how a couple of years ago, there was this bank robber who held a bank up and robbed them of one dollar? He was very ill, he was unemployed and he had no health insurance. He felt that if he could go to jail, he could somehow survive on government-provided healthcare. Well, while that's an extreme example o how difficult things can be in a country where there is no health insurance for unemployed people. The less extreme among us don't go through experiences that are necessarily a lot better.

There are 15 million unemployed people in this country who bat about trying their best to look for health insurance for unemployed people. This is what they need to know.

Knowledge is power. In the health insurance business, where vendors seem to delight in complicating matters to the point of incomprehensibility, finding the best plan for your needs can seem like a tall order. But you will find that when you take the time to do your homework and really understand all the information there is, your job with becomes somewhat easier. In fact, try doing your homework on a website like CoverageForAll. It's a nonprofit that really helps health insurance for unemployed people.

The first thing you want to do is to decide on the kind of coverage you want and the kind you actually need. Healthy, single people don't really need a low deductible all-inclusive health insurance plan. If you have kids and you're responsible for what happens to everyone though, a low deductible plan would be entirely appropriate, even if it costs a good bit more.

Once you have a list of all the different providers that you need to look at, you just need to write it all down for simple comparison shopping.

Of course, the kind of budget you have to work with has a lot to do with which insurance vendor you go with. You need to have a realistic idea of the kind of budget you can work with. But that doesn't mean that you should completely err on the side of financial prudence and say that you can't afford anything. It can turn out to be a catastrophic decision to have made one day.

For instance, you might think that you can't afford COBRA care, and you may completely skip it. If you've just lost your job, COBRA should be your number one choice. Yes, you have to pay both your employer's share and your own. It could cost you $1000 a month - four times want you paid at your job. But it is excellent coverage, and you can't find anything for your whole family at that price. Remember - medical expenses are the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country.