Clark Howard

11.25.19 Workers fleeing big cities; Avoid this health insurance with terrible coverage

Even with solid education, skills and jobs, it’s difficult for many in high-cost cities to live without wheezing financially all the time, often with dim prospects of home ownership. Especially in the NE, DC and the I5 corridor from Seattle to SanDiego – people work hard to just tread water. If this is your situation, think about relocating. Even taking a lower paying job in a community with a much lower cost of living can pay off, and allow for home ownership. If such a move buys you a better lifestyle and allows you to accomplish financial goals, it can be worth it. More companies are relocating or establishing branches in lower cost areas for their employees- who want an affordable life often not found on either coast.

There's a type of health insurance originally designed for young adults between jobs. These were designed as temporary policies. They exclude pre-existing conditions and generally don't cover major illnesses. Because of a loophole in the law, unethical insurers are selling these policies to anyone, renewable up to 3 years. Only when someone is down do they find out they have no real coverage. These policies are cheap, don't have big deductibles and cover routine care. So people think they're great …. until. Stories have emerged of people facing huge medical bills forcing them into bankruptcies. Relatively brief hospital stays aren't covered and can be billed in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are tight limits on what these policies cover and a long list of exclusions. These policies are marketed as health insurance, but are NOT real health insurance at all. They pretend to cover you, but the low premium you pay isn't worth it. There's not a free lunch. The real issue is dealing with the cost of health care itself. Clark will be forthcoming with his solutions to get the cost of healthcare down.
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