Affordable Individual Health Insurance Needed
May 2009
It's long been hypothesized that the unemployed suffer from more serious health issues than those with jobs, a problem made quite expensive for those already struggling to pay bills by their inability to access lower-cost
group health insurance. However, until now no one knew if being unemployed was actually dangerous to your health, or if unhealthy people were just more likely to lose their job.
But according to the
New York Times, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health has offered evidence that being unemployed can make you sick. And, as the Labor Department releases data showing record job losses, a lack of affordable individual health insurance is leaving the recently unemployed in a dangerous situation.
In order to make sure that those unemployed individuals who participated in the study had no previous health related issues, only workers who lost their job "through no fault of their own" were allowed to participate. This means that those people who were laid off because a business closed or due to other forms of downsizing no longer had access to the group health insurance that they had enjoyed until then.
The results were eye-opening; those workers "were twice as likely to report developing a new ailment like high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease over the next year and a half, compared with people who were continuously employed."
Surprising as it seems, it makes sense - those people who have medical coverage enjoy regular checkups and preventative care that we know to have healthful benefits. When they are suddenly unemployed, the stress of looking for work can lead to or aggravate previously unknown medical conditions.
Of course, the answer to this issue is to find affordable individual health insurance. Group health insurance rates are generally lower because only a few will get sick out of the insured group, making it a good investment for health insurance companies.
Facts on:
Group Health Insurance Benefits
Did you know...
Laid off employees were twice as likely to report a new ailment compared with people who were continuously employed?
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However, affordable
individual health insurance is easier to find for those who are willing to shop around, and educate themselves on the ins and outs of the health care market. Those who know what they want, how much they can afford, and where to find it, will be more successful than those who don't bother to look into health insurance at all.
And, as legislation that could make insurance more affordable for all Americans is weighed by Congress, we may soon see the unemployed returning to health, and hopefully, to work.
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