Medical treatment in this country can be incredibly expensive. An incident as minor as breaking an ankle can cost you thousands of dollars. You don’t want to get that medical bill and can’t pay for it.
Prepare your finances so you can cover unexpected medical expenses shortly after they arise. Here are four ways to do that:
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1. Health Insurance
Of course, your first line of defense should always be health insurance. The rates of uninsured Americans are historically low, but there is still a possibility that you are part of the population that does not have any coverage. Don’t leave yourself unprotected any longer.
Open registration season
If you don’t have insurance, you should get it as soon as possible. The open enrollment season for health insurance marketplace plans will close soon. Now is your chance to sign up for private health insurance. If you do not register before January 15eyou may be missing out on this opportunity to cover some of your potential medical expenses in 2023. You may be able to apply after January 15e if you qualify for a special enrollment period, this may give you an additional 90 days to apply.
Medicaid and CHIP
If you can’t afford a private plan, check your eligibility for Medicaid. If you have children, you may also want to enroll them in CHIP. Both programs provide low-cost or free health care for low-income Americans.
Medicaid and CHIP do not have enrollment seasons – you can enroll at any time. However, if you qualify, you’ll want to sign up as soon as possible to access these safety nets.
2. Flexible Spending Account
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is an employer-sponsored savings account designed to help employees save and pay for medical expenses not covered by their health insurance.
If your employer offers FSAs as part of its benefits plan, take advantage of yours. You may be able to use it for unexpected medical expenses, such as dental treatments, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medications.
3. Health Savings Account
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is another type of employer-sponsored savings account designed to help with medical expenses outside of health insurance coverage. It is similar to an FSA, with one major difference.
An FSA only lets you use the savings for the year. An HSA lets the money roll over to the next year so you keep building your balance.
You cannot have an HSA and an FSA at the same time. You can only have one account.
4. Emergency fund
An emergency fund is a personal collection of savings set aside for surprise expenses. Those expenses could be car repairs, home repairs, or appliance replacements.
It could also be minor medical expenses that your insurance doesn’t cover, such as an urgent visit to the dentist for a toothache or a course of antibiotics after contracting an infection.
Without an emergency fund, you may not have the resources to cover these surprise expenses out of pocket. In that case, you may want to go to a website such as CreditFresh to see which online loan options are available to you. Something like an online loan can help you cover the urgent costs in a short period of time.
Consider online borrowing only for emergencies. They’re not for anticipated expenses, like your bi-annual dental cleaning.
Here are four safety nets that can help you cover unexpected medical expenses when they crop up. Use as many as you can!
