Governments around the world have recently announced massive cuts in healthcare funding. In the UK, the National Health Service has taken a real battering, which means one of the only free healthcare solutions in the entire country is likely to collapse over the next few years. At home in the US, Obama Care aims to replace all the other systems put in place previously. To some people, that will mean they’re a little better off when it comes to paying for treatment. However, many others will experience the opposite effect. With all that in mind, we’re going to spend a few minutes this morning looking at the ways in which those new changes are likely to affect your family.
Healthcare data are predicting the standard of care is likely to drop over the next four or five years, and things could get a lot worse if successive governments maintain this hardline stance on spending. Unfortunately, there’s not much the average citizen can do about this, and so it’s important you all receive the best, most accurate information. That way; at least you can prepare in advance for anything that might happen in the near future.
Doctor checkups
Thankfully, there won’t be many changes in the amount you have to pay for medical checkups from a family doctor. In truth, some practise owners are even looking at ways in which they can bring prices down to help counteract the lack of funding for more serious appointments and procedures. So, if little Jimmy gets a stomach ache, or little Lisa bumps her head at school, there should be no noticeable difference in the level of care you can afford.
Hospital testing
If your family doctor decides your children need to go to a hospital for further tests, you’re going to need a lot of money in the bank. That is a sad fact, but it’s true. For a single x-ray, you could be charged as much as $500, and that’s being conservative. If your child needs something more substantial like an endoscopy, this could range into the thousands of dollars. For that reason, it is essential that you take out good quality health insurance as soon as possible. Just make sure you read through the small print, as some of the cheapest options require you to pay a certain amount towards the costs.
Medical operations
This is where the new changes could completely bankrupt you, and so you need to prepare in advance for every eventuality. Even the most basic medical operations like the removal of a wisdom tooth could set you back around $10,000, and more serious ones can increase that amount tenfold. While you will probably have at least a few month’s worth of notice if any of your family members require an operation, accidents will happen, and so you need to ensure you’re covered.
So, you should now understand how the recent cuts in healthcare funding could affect your family unit. The basic rule of thumb here is that you need to get medical insurance very very soon.