The Car Accident And The Health Insurance Issues That Came With It

I bought my first car when I was 17 years old. I had the standard coverage on the car, but to keep the cost of the premiums low, I opted for high deductibles. Honestly, I figured Id never need the coverage because I was a good driver and I was very cautious and conscientious when I drove.

One night I was on a three-lane highway going to a friends house. That road was really busy during the day, but at night it was pretty quiet. I was in the center lane and a car came up next to me on the right and started drifting into my lane. To avoid getting hit or sideswiped, I moved to the left lane, next to the median wall. A short distance later, the driver of that car did the same thing and almost hit my car again! This time when I tried to get out of the way I hit the median wall. My car spun out of control through all three lanes, and I saw that car drive away. The guardrail on the right side of the road stopped my car.

Naturally, I called the police to report the accident and then I called my mom. My mom called my insurance company, and the agent recommended I go to the emergency room to get checked out. She gave my mom a claim number to use at the hospital. I was shaken up and hurt all over, so my mom took me to the hospital.

As I was being treated in the emergency room, we were asked what insurance we had to pay the costs. I told them my mom had been out of work for a while so I only had the car insurance to cover me. We didn't have a health insurance plan anymore because my mom was only working from home and health insurance wasn't in the budget. I didn't know this, but except for the emergency room co-pay, if we had health insurance, it would have covered any expense my car insurance didn't pay, including my $1,000 deductible. My mom told me that when we did have health insurance coverage, the co-pay for the emergency room was only $100. If we had health insurance, my cost for the emergency room treatment that night could have been ten times less than what I ended up paying.

Today I'm covered by a good health insurance policy at the company where I work. If you have to pay out of pocket to see a doctor or buy a prescription, the cost may not be too much. In that case, being without insurance isn't too much of a risk. However, a trip to the emergency room could be very expensive, and that's what health insurance really is for. If I can help it, I don't ever want to find myself without health insurance coverage again.