Your health is obviously important but what you may not realize is just how much damage your money problems are causing. People who struggle on a weekly or even daily basis to stretch their paychecks and support their families may have developed health concerns that are specifically related to money issues.

Here are some issues you need to consider about your finances, your health, and your future:

Stress Can Kill

Never underestimate the power of stress. If you battle ongoing stress over money matters in your daily life, you can be doing some serious damage to your heart, nerves, and overall immune system. Being stressed out on a long-term basis will eventually lead to more serious health conditions, including death. Stress often takes a toll over a long period of time without major recognizable symptoms. It is important to find ways to reduce stress in your life such as through exercise and hobbies you enjoy.

Missed Health Checkups

Many people cut costs in order to get by during hard financial times. One cost they often cut first is annual visits to their doctor, especially if they lack insurance coverage and can’t afford the cost of the visit. It is very important to your health to stay in touch with your doctor and make sure you are having your health evaluated, especially if you are enduring a lot of stress in your life. Missed health checkups on a regular basis can result in missed opportunities for an early diagnosis of a medical condition.

Missed Medications

It is no secret that medicine is expensive. For those that do not have prescription coverage for importance maintenance medication, paying the monthly costs can be near-impossible. However, neglecting to take prescribed medicines as directed by your doctor can have adverse effects on your health and lead to even more expensive medical problems down the line.

New Health Developments

Sometimes financial matters in your personal life can become so out of control, your mental health suffers as a result. There are increased statistics of suicides and even criminal acts by people who felt alone in their financial hardship. It is important to seek treatment and a proper diagnosis when you begin to feel overwhelmed and out of control. Without maintaining a healthy outlook on life, you can put yourself at risk for making poor decisions. There are free resources for mental health care and those who worry about being overwhelmed with their daily lives should seek help.

Growing Debts

If you do not pay attention to your health and find ways to reduce the amount of stress you are under, you are likely going to end up with even bigger debts when you can no longer go on without a medical intervention. If you suffer a heart attack or other stress-related situation, you will add medical bills and extended treatment costs to your already-overwhelming debt loads. Serious medical complications can also put you out of work for a long period of time which means you have even less income to work with.

Don’t neglect your health. You can start contributing to a separate savings account using funds from each paycheck. Even if you are putting $5 or $10 a week into the account, you can build up a nice little backup funding source when medical emergencies strike. This fund should be allowed to continue growing and only used for medical expenses especially if you have a family history of medical complications. You can also seek additional assistance in your local community where free or low-cost services are available to ensure you and your family gets the health care needed on a regular basis and prevent mounting medical debts associated with untreated and undiagnosed medical conditions.

Why Health Is an Important Factor in Your Finances was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

So what should you do if you find yourself suddenly without a job or health insurance?

The COBRA Way

The Consolidation Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, otherwise known as COBRA, requires that most employers provide continued coverage through their own group-sponsored plan for a term of up to 18 to 36 months. With COBRA, you will essentially keep the same type of coverage but will be responsible for paying the premium in full for the entire policy and any administrative costs that are incurred. Once your COBRA coverage has expired, you have a right to continuous coverage through an individual policy that does not pre-exempt you if there are preexisting medical conditions.

Inquire About Spouse Coverage

If your spouse has insurance coverage through their employer, you can check in with the benefits administrator and find out what type of coverage and rates are available for family members. If there is no outlet for reasonable insurance coverage with your spouse’s employer, you might find group health coverage plans if they belong to an association or organization that sponsors such programs.

Explore Different Policies

If the above-mentioned ways are not relevant to your situation, you can certainly take on the task of finding the best medical coverage for you, at a price you can afford. With the internet search capability we now have, it may be much easier to review and compare different plans and prices.

Check With Government Agencies

If you are in need of medical coverage but still have not found a new job, check with your local or state agencies about discounted medical care or programs requirements to enroll in government-sponsored health coverage.

Retirement Before Medicare?

If you are considering early retirement, it would be wise to cover all of your financial bases and that includes your medical insurance. If you retire before you reach 65, you are not eligible to receive Medicare benefits. Make sure you check with coverage, pricing, and insurance information before you retire.

Health Insurance To-Do’s When You Lose Your Job was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Hurricanes, natural disasters, accidents, illnesses, airline strikes or bankruptcies are just a few items that can wreck havoc on people’s vacation plans and trip investments. ”There are as many options for travel insurance as there are scenarios – from life-threatening, to simply annoying – that can arise unexpectedly when people travel,” Squaremouth.com CEO Chris Harvey explains. So how can consumers be sure they’ve found the right policy for them?

In attempt to provide some clarity to travel insurance questions, Squaremouth.com, a leading travel insurance comparison site, released today its comprehensive set of answers to customers’ most pressing questions including a few that follow:

What are the main kinds of travel insurance? Medical policies cover illness, accidents and emergency evacuation. They may be sold separately, or wrapped into so-called “comprehensive” packages. At a minimum, comprehensive packages consist of “trip cancellation” and “trip delay” protection in circumstances ranging from poor weather or airport delays, to deficient aircraft; “trip interruption” benefits for vacations cut short because of a family emergency; and usually some baggage coverage.

Should I buy a ‘medical evacuation’ plan in addition to standard trip insurance?
A medical evacuation plan is designed to return the consumer home quickly after they’ve been hospitalized in a foreign country. This insurance typically doesn’t cover medical treatment they may need before the evacuation. Most standard travel insurance covers evacuations as well, but the insurance company and local physician are the ones deciding whether to bring them home; Medical evacuation plans, in contrast, allow travelers more control over that decision. Squaremouth considers standard plans’ evacuation coverage to be excellent, so unless the buyers want more control over the decision to evacuate there’s no need to buy additional medical evacuation cover.

Can I buy travel insurance without a ‘trip cancellation’ benefit?
Yes, a traveler can choose a plan that excludes cancellation coverage but still offers a full range of benefits, including coverage for trip delay, a medical emergency, medical evacuation, lost or delayed baggage, etc. Some plans allow the customer to enter a $0 trip cost, which will provide all the benefits of a comprehensive plan excluding trip cancellation and trip interruption. Another option to consider is a Post Departure Plan, which offers all comprehensive benefits including trip interruption, but excludes trip cancellation coverage.

Is there a money back guarantee?
Money back guarantees let travelers decide if the travel insurance policy they purchased is right for them. Their guarantee, called a “free look period,” in industry lingo, can last for up to 15 days depending on the insurance company, although it may expire sooner if they make a claim or reach your departure date before the period has ended. Most companies will refund the full amount minus an administrative fee of around $6 to $8 per policy.

When’s the best time to buy?
The best time to buy travel insurance is usually within 14 to 21 days of putting down the initial deposit on a trip. It means travelers’ typically qualify for coverage of any pre-existing medical conditions – though a few carriers provide such coverage up to the day before their last payment. If they need a “cancel for any reason” benefit, they will be required to buy this within 14 days of their deposit. But if a customer does not need either of these types of benefit, or they are buying medical coverage only, there’s no deadline to meet: travelers can buy insurance up until the day they leave.

Can I buy insurance to cover less than the cost of my trip?
Some plans require a traveler to insure the full pre-paid, non-refundable cost of a trip to be eligible for certain benefits, such as for pre-existing conditions. Others allow them to insure an amount less than your trip cost; however, any claim would be limited to the amount they have insured.

Can I insure trips paid for using frequent flier miles?
Frequent flier miles aren’t covered by travel insurance. If a consumer cancels a trip, they will only be reimbursed the money they actually lost. However, some policies will reimburse the cost of an airline-imposed change or reissue fee, if their trip was canceled by their travel supplier; plus fees to re-bank frequent flier miles up to the amount they entered as their trip cost.

Can I cancel for any reason and get my money back?
Standard trip cancellation insurance refunds the pre-paid, non-refundable costs of canceling a trip for one of the reasons covered by a customer’s policy, which generally are: sudden medical emergencies; airline, cruise line or tour operator bankruptcy; severe weather; terrorist attacks; or jury duty. A traveler can add ‘Cancel for any reason’ insurance as an option on many policies to help refund much of the value of a trip. This policy must be purchased within 14 days of putting down the initial deposit on a trip, and the traveler has to insure the trip’s full value. And to be able to make a claim, the customer must cancel a trip at least two days prior to their intended departure.

The ease of Squaremouth’s presentation of available travel insurance products aids in helping eliminate some of the confusion when seeing which options exist. Squaremouth displays policies in a format that allows for side-by-side comparison, similar to some airline ticketing sites such as Orbitz or CheapTickets.com.

It is easy for Squaremouth customers to sort policies by price, benefit or carrier, and instantly buy their choice of coverage. 

Still have questions? Don’t worry, Squaremouth’s team of licensed insurance experts is available to answer any questions via phone or email. Visit http://www.squaremouth.com/pages/travel-insurance-advice.php. To read up on this industry’s lingo, visit the Travel Insurance Glossary (fun beachside reading).

Confused about Travel Insurance? Here are some Questions & Answers was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Can you afford NOT to have health insurance?

CBS news reported recently that a visit to the emergency room in an ambulance can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000. Worse, people who do not have health insurance are charged significantly higher rates than people who do have health insurance.

While paying for health insurance on your own (without the assistance of an employer) is considered quite expensive by most, and for benefits that are likely not as comprehensive as what you would get under an employer’s group health insurance plan- the fact of the matter is- you can’t afford not to pay for health insurance. The monthly fee for your health insurance may seem costly- but wait until the first time you need to see a doctor or go to the hospital without insurance! Often, people without insurance tend to skip going to the doctor for preventative care, so when they are hospitalized, they often require major procedures that are not only financially costly, but take a bigger toll on the health of the individual as well. In some cases, cancer may have been caught before it advanced had patients been seeing a doctor regularly.

With the cost of surgeries ranging in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and regular doctor checkups reaching the $200 mark for uninsured patients- you honestly can’t afford not to find health insurance. Health insurance will pay for things ranging from doctors visits, to surgeries, to therapy such as chelaton.

Check prices online to try to find your best coverage and rates. Visit eHealthInsurance.com for quotes from a variety of companies that offer individual health insurance plans. You’ll also want to look at your own state’s insurance department web site, as you can find companies that sell individual coverage in your own state- including companies that you can’t get with a health broker.

Hiring a health broker is an option though, if you’re not fond of researching the various options yourself. They earn commission from the health care companies, so just be careful they’re not steering you to a more expensive plan simply to boost their own commission rate.

You Can’t Afford NOT To Have Health Insurance was created by and is property of American Consumer News.