You may pay into your medical and hospital insurance for years and never use it, but you want to know that if you need it, it is going to cover you if you have to have a stay in the hospital. Medical costs are high, and if your insurance is sub standard, or does not kick in at all, you are going to incur huge piles of debt if you have to stay for any amount of time. This goes for any member of your family as well. If you happen to have a child born too early, they are going to stay in the neonatal ICU for a while. This may be the most expensive hospital stay you could encounter.
How long your child stays in the NICU will greatly depend on how old they were when they were born. Some stay just a day or two, but are generally okay to go home as long as everything is okay. Some children, however, have to stay for months. If you think about NICU as an average of 1000 dollars a day (that price can vary wildly), you can see how quickly things can add up, and that may not include testing and other procedures they must endure. You could end up with 500,000 in medical bills and you hope your hospital insurance is going to cover it.
You may have an illness of your own with which you have to contend. You may have a heart attack or perhaps you have a stroke. If that happens, you could end up in the hospital for quite some time. Your hospital insurance may cover this, but you are likely to find that it does not cover everything. Did you know many hospitals send you bills for television usage? Remember that things like this are not usually covered by insurance. If you are not sure what you can expect, call your hospital insurance provider and ask questions.
One thing that can happen in your favor with medical and hospital insurance is that you or your baby could be declared disabled for a short period of time. This depends on the circumstances. A child born under two pounds and ten ounces is automatically disabled for a year, though don't worry, this does not label them for life. It does, however, get them social security for a year. The money is small, but the insurance you get with it will pay for any medical bills that your regular medical hospital insurance does not cover. This can be a lifesaver for some families. Talk with a social worker at your hospital for help with this.
If for some reasons you do not have hospital insurance, you are not alone. Many families fall short in this area by no fault of their own. If this is you, you may be okay for now, but you never know what can happen that will require you to have hospital insurance. Look around for many of the newer policies that you can buy on your own. You can search online for some options. You may have to pay more than you may feel comfortable with, but if there is any way that you can afford it, it is a good investment in the health of your family.