In the year of 1694 Hugh Chamberlen had thought of the concept of health insurance coverage, and it picked up greatly. In the 1800’s it was called disability insurance. The reason for this is that you could only get insurance if you had an injury or a sickness that would ultimitly lead to a disability, and that was the only main kind of medical coverage that was around then. These days though we have all sorts of coverage and plans for us to choose from.
So what exactly is health insurance about these days?
It is a program that is designed for you not to go broke should you have an unexpected visit to the emergency room or even a routine visit to the doctors office. Basically the insurance company will pick up a huge chunk of the medical bill, and these days medical bills are more expensive than ever due to modern medicines and the overall costs of high tech procedures. There are two main type of health insurance coverage that are out there, they are private non government, and there is government sponsered medical insurance.
If you are employed and your job offers you health insurance, this is referred to as private health insurance, unless of course you are working a government job, they you will more than likely be getting coverage through the government in most situations. If you are not employed you can still get private insurance through what is called direct purchase. Lots of private health insurance companies make money off of people that are in excellent health.
Government health insurance is mainly for those individuals that make a very low income, and do not have the chance to enroll in any plans that are worthwhile, or maybe a plan that they would not be able to afford under certain conditions such as child birth. Some of the well know government coverage plans are Medicare, Medicaid, and the SCHIP, which stands for State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Medicaid is a program that is only available for certain low income groups that meet a specific kind of criteria. This can depend on many factors including age, minimum salary, household, disablities and of course what state it is you are in when you are applying for Medicaid. Medicaid can be a huge help to single mothers or soon to be mothers that make a low income. If you are pregnant and do not make that much money you may be eligble for Medicaid, which will cover all of your hospital bills while you are going through pregnancy and through the delovery of the baby.
Medicare is a health insurance program that is made for those that are 65 years old or more. These two programs are great and all, and we really do need them so that everyone can get a chance to get good health coverage but it is said that they greatly complicate the pricing on many other types of private health insurance companies.
If you are not able to get accepted by Medicaid than you can try to enroll in the State Childrens Health Insurance program which is for parents that have kids and are a low income family. Just remember when you are filling out paperwork for health insurance they will ask you many questions about your medical history. If you have never smoked or drank alcohol, and have a low history of visits to the doctor you may be able to get a discount on your medical insurance due to good health.
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