If you live in America, securing health insurance is vital, particularly before you turn 65-years old. According to the nation’s top financial advisors, uninsured Americans can pose a financial burden, both on their own net worth as well as their families. Lack of health insurance also corresponds with higher instances of poor health overall, as well as greater lack of timely medical care when it’s needed most. 

Plus, buying health insurance early in life offers many benefits that far outweigh the cost, and in many instances, that means you will be able to also cover the cost of added or customized services, as well as get the best health insurance and extended benefits for your entire family:

1. Consider waiting periods
Typically, upon purchasing a health insurance plan, users are assigned a waiting period for certain healthcare needs (i.e., specialists, surgeries, etc.). However, buying health insurance when you’re younger and healthy means you’ll satisfy those requisites when you aren’t in need of a life-changing treatment or surgery you must wait for. 

2. Financial interest
You might not consider health insurance as a way to save money, however, think of it like this: Purchasing a plan early on means you’re prepared should an unexpected illness or tragic accident occur, and it also ensures coverage prior to developing any pre existing diseases (as you’re already covered). Emergency medical costs without health insurance can literally bankrupt an unprepared individual. If you are prepared with a solid health insurance plan, you can invest your hard earned money with peace of mind. You can also save on your taxes for paying your health premium (up to 15,000 yearly). Buying early means affordable health insurance now to use later when you need it.

3. Health coverage
Many of us often don’t give health insurance a second thought—until we need it! However, a quality health insurance plan will cover everything from maternity benefits (including your newborn) to ambulance, physiotherapy, optical, dental, chiropractic, vector borne diseases (i.e., Lyme disease), alternative health (i.e., homeopathy) on top of emergency hospitalizations. And as mentioned, buying while you’re young and in good health means you can customize your plan with added services or buy extended family benefits at much lower cost.

4. Increased disease and illness occurrence  
Many Americans believe when they’re young they won’t need health insurance, which is a big misconception. Consider that metabolic diseases (i.e., type 2 diabetes) and obesity are rampant in younger generations due to convenience culture and more sedentary lifestyles, which means  higher instances of cardiovascular disease and cancer in much younger patients. However, if

5. You can’t depend on employer coverage
The health insurance coverage provided by American employers decreases year by year, as health care costs increase. This means you can’t depend on your employer to cover your health needs when it matters most. In fact, most employee coverage will not even come close to covering the cost of a 5-day hospital stay if an emergency occurs. The typical 5 day in-patient hospital stay costs upwards of $10,000 (not considering ambulance, surgeries, and other procedures), considering that you’ll be paying the extra out of pocket, it’s in your best interest to secure a quality plan now that offers immediate health insurance coverage for any and all emergency and non-emergency incidents that may crop up later on in life.

Find out more about how buying health insurance early for individuals and family coverage can save you money at ehealthinsurance.com.