Health insurance pays for you to go to the doctor or hospital when you're sick. It also helps pay for medicine you have to take. Health insurance can cost a lot of money. But buying health insurance costs less than paying all the doctor and hospital bills yourself. Health insurance helps you stay healthy too. It can pay for you to have regular check-ups. You can also get shots and other medicines you need. No one likes shots, but they can keep you from getting sick.
How much does health insurance cost?
Because health insurance can be expensive, some people don't buy it. They think they can do without it, especially if they are young and healthy. It is true that young people are usually healthier than older people. But young people can get hurt playing games. They can also catch colds and illnesses from their friends and other people they are around. Everyone needs health insurance!
Some people get health insurance where they work. When you get a job, your company may have a health plan that you can join. But some jobs don't offer health insurance to their employees. If a job doesn't offer health insurance, people can buy their own.
Here's another activity for you
Let's learn all the ways you can get health insurance.
TDI has a guide to help people learn about health insurance and to help them find the coverage they need.
The guide lists three ways that a parent or guardian can find health coverage for a child. Write down the three ways:
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Talk about the list with your parents. Ask them whether you have health insurance. If you do, what type do you have? Which one of the four items on the list applies to you?
If your parents want to learn more about health insurance, they can visit our health insurance page.
Guides
Print these out and give them to your parents or to other family members who want to learn about health insurance.