Looking for that perfect holiday gift? Look no further. I’ve got the perfect idea: This year, give your loved ones the gift of health insurance.
I know, I know—it’s not a fancy smart phone, a cool toy, or even a fine sweater. It’s certainly not the sort of gift that makes anyone’s heart race or inspires yelps of unchecked joy. And I understand that the payments can be as hefty as the ones for the bow-wrapped cars you see in TV commercials.
And yet! As head of a health insurance company, I might not be completely objective on this subject—but, if there is any lesson I’ve learned in my position, it’s that if you don’t have health insurance, or don’t have insurance that is right for you, there’s really nothing else you ought to spend your money on this December and through the year ahead.
The main reason for this is simple: The only thing in life that’s predictable is that life will always be unpredictable. You might be healthy and fit and yet suddenly take a tumble while trying to place those holiday lights on your roof. You might stop by the gym for a pickup basketball game and leave with a torn ACL. And you might, perish the thought, come down with something more serious.
When we’re young—I can still include myself in that group, though just barely—we often pay too little attention to our health. We’re running full-steam ahead and simply take it for granted that any ailment can be fixed with a little rest and basic treatment. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Life can deal us a sudden change in plans at any time, and the only way to be truly prepared is to be insured.
But health insurance isn’t just the most prudent thing you can buy; it’s also one of the simplest. This may sound counter-intuitive, especially because health insurance has a terrible reputation as a needlessly complicated, jargon-laden field. At its core, however, health insurance is actually quite simple. Most plans that insurance providers offer correspond to different precious metals—bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. The less precious the metal, the lower the premiums you’ll pay each month, and the more money you’ll have to pony up (in the form of deductibles, co-pays and so on) if you do need care. If your family and loved ones are mostly young and healthy, one of the less glitzy metals may be best for you. If you’re shopping for people with more intricate health needs, go gold or platinum and pay more upfront and less later. It’s that easy, and it’ll make you ask the question that most of us, frankly, should be asking before opening up our wallets: What does my family really need?
Of course, that’s very different than asking what does my family really want, but that’s the whole point of health insurance. Thinking about it makes you focus on your family in the clearest and most concise way, which is a lovely thing to do, especially this time of year. And going through that exercise makes health insurance like holiday gift shopping in one other important respect: Smart shoppers who do their homework can always find the right plan for the right price. For example, your husband may feel good about having many doctors to choose from, but if he really only ever sees two or three doctors, and if all three are local and members of your community, then paying a fortune for some fancy plan he’ll never use is a waste.
That’s the kind of logic we should all keep in mind as we go on our shopping sprees. At this time of year we often worry about what we’re spending, and dread the arrival of the credit card bill come January. So this holiday season—and throughout this coming year—let us spend wisely, putting our money where our values lie: in health insurance that makes us and our loved ones feel secure.