Top 5 Alternatives to Traditional Health Insurance

In today’s economy, it’s the fortunate minority that has both a job and medical benefits. In fact, the number of uninsured Americans has continued to rise, and at last count numbered 50 million. And those with the least resources, the unemployed, are experiencing a high rate of medical debt.

There are no easy answers. In time, the economy will turn around, the Affordable Care Act will help some get benefits, but others may be left out in the cold. Without the resources to pay for COBRA insurance when they lose a job, or to purchase a private insurance policy, many Americans need alternatives for both everyday health issues and more complicated surgical-related problems. Options are limited, but here are a few possibilities that may provide a middle ground.

(1) High Deductible, Catastrophic Policies

With the high cost of traditional full-service policies, many prefer to opt out of insurance altogether, but there are certain policies that will help defray costs should you have a larger, or catastrophic, medical condition. And it is these policies that just may allow you to keep your home and never have to visit a bankruptcy attorney when you cannot pay your medical bills.

High deductible, catastrophic policies cover unexpected situations, such as breaking a leg while skiing, a heart attack followed by quadruple bypass surgery, a stroke, or a cancer diagnosis and treatment. They generally do not cover routine office visits, prescriptions, or your monthly diabetes equipment.

You pay a monthly fee for the insurance, and should an injury or illness befall you, once you have paid an agreed-upon deductible, the policy kicks in to pay the medical bills.  For healthy individuals who rarely see a doctor, these policies allow peace of mind.  Policies are available from most major insurance companies, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare.

(2) Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is a new trend in health care, not to mention one of the fastest growing healthcare industries, where patients choose to travel outside the United States for medical procedures.

The primary factor in medical tourism is cost, plain and simple. For the underinsured and uninsured, medical tourism provides choices in quality medical care at more affordable prices than they can get in the United States. Even with travel expenses included, patients still come out well ahead in out-of-pocket expenses, as procedures are 30 to 90 percent cheaper abroad (varies by country and procedure).

The type of procedures offered abroad is lengthy, and the list of countries where medical tourism is an option is mind-boggling. You can get the same standard of care, often under U.S. trained physicians, and in hospitals that have been accredited by the Joint Commission, the same agency that accredits hospitals in the United States.

Obtaining health care in foreign countries is, according to the book Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman, less costly for a number of reasons: standards of living are more modest, doctors and staff command lower wages, government-subsidized health care keeps private health care costs down, and malpractice attorneys are, if not docile, at least considerably more restrained. A fortuitous confluence of actions that allow medical tourism to flourish across the world.

While you can arrange all aspects of a trip abroad for medical services, many opt to use a medical tourism facilitator. Medical tourism facilitators are a new breed; assisting patients, employers, and insurers in finding trusted overseas facilities. The advantage of using a facilitator is their expertise and knowledge, and referrals to accredited and certified foreign providers. While there are a large number of facilitators, finding a reputable one can be difficult. Try Healthbase: Healthcare Beyond Boundaries, an award-winning facilitator which operates in the U.S.; Med Retreat, also based in the U.S. which serves all of North America in making arrangements for medical services in 10 countries abroad; Planet Hospital, which has almost 10 years experience is a pioneer in medical tourism; or, WorldMed Assist.

Page 2: Medical Discount Savings Cards, Medical Sharing Programs, and Health Savings Accounts