Reasons Why Health Insurance Rates Keep Rising

There are several issues regarding health insurance, one of which is the rising rates you have to pay annually. For now, you may be able to afford health insurance without too many problems, but a few years from now, you might notice that it may start to get too expensive for the average American. There are a number of reasons why health insurance keeps on rising. Below are ten of the biggest reasons.

1. There are newer medical technologies which cost more. Today, more and more research facilities are discovering new ways to diagnose and treat diseases. It’s both good and bad news for us. The good news: we can live longer if our disease can be cured by this discovery. The bad news: even if we can’t make use of these technologies, we have to pay more on health insurance.
2. Old people needing medical care are fast increasing. Although we aren’t the ones who benefit from this, we still have to pay for their medical bills. They maybe paying their own insurance, but it isn’t enough to cover all the expenses that come with old age. So if it isn’t enough, we have to pay the extra fees.
3. There are uninsured people who get to use the medical facilities, in which case, we have to pay for it. Emergency rooms can’t turn away people even if they don’t have the insurance to cover or the money to pay for it. This is an expensive use of professional staffs. And who pays for it? We do.
4. The unhealthy lifestyle of Americans takes their toll. Smoking, drinking, overeating: these are only a few of the reasons why so many people need to go to the hospital. Heart illnesses and diabetes among others costs a lot of money. But because we have insurance, we don’t really care right? Wrong. Soon enough, the rising fees insurance has will cover it. That’s too bad for those who live healthy but are included in the rising fees.
5. We prefer doctors who have high fees. This is, I guess, human nature. We want only the things of the highest value. Even if they’re not really the best, we want it to be the most expensive. That is, when they’re free or discounted. This is what happens now. The higher the fee we’re supposed to pay (but we know we won’t pay it), the more we want it.
6. We continually need medical expenses. Take, for example, a man with cancer. Although he gets cured now, in a few years, there’s a chance that he will need checkups or another cure for some other disease. It’s hard to say this, but death is really a cheaper option, which nobody wants.
7. Many doctors practice what is called “defensive medicine.” This is done when a doctor checks everything and tries to treat imaginary diseases. This is a hot issue now because people are angry with doctors over-treating everything from simple headaches and common colds. Why? They are afraid of getting sued in case they miss something.
8. We love to get checkups. Although checkups can be done at most once a year, some people want to go to the doctor every month or so. This adds the medical expense we otherwise don’t need to have. I understand that we just want to make sure we’re free from any disease, but it’s a little unnecessary to do it all the time.
9. All of the states have different insurance rules. Some states require a stricter set of regulations compared to others. This lack of standardization causes many health insurance companies to just increase their fees to cover everyone in the different states.
10. Finally, we fail to see the diseases that should otherwise have been prevented. If this could have been avoided, lots of people wouldn’t have to go to the hospital to get cured. This in effect, would lower the health insurance we have to pay.

We know that health insurance is an expense that just seems to be a necessary evil. We have to pay it monthly or annually even if we don’t really need it (regardless if we use it or not). However, just think if we were the ones who need it. In that case, it’s the only thing we have to depend on to pay our medical bills. We just have to look at the brighter side of things. It’s good to insure our health!