As most adults in the United States are well aware of already, having health insurance is something that is quite hugely important indeed. Fortunately, health insurance is something that the vast majority of people get through their jobs, pensions, or social security plans. For others, buying private healthcare is often also an option. For many people, these health care plans are hugely important indeed, as health insurance plans can be used to cover any number of concerns.

For one thing, they can be used to deal with chronic or lasting conditions, of which there are many in the United States. As a matter of fact, the number of chronic conditions seen throughout the country is actually even on the rise, as of recent years, something that can largely be attributed to the fact that the Baby Boomer generation is creeping closer and closer to their elderly years, with many members of this generation having already entered them, for that matter. But healthcare costs are on the rise. Just the cost of prescription medications alone jumped by as much as a full 9% in the span of time from 2014 to 2015, a single year. In the years that have followed since, such healthcare costs have only continued to increase. Fortunately, health insurance companies can offer the health insurance necessary to ensure that such medications are still covered and still taken care of – and that people can get the treatment (often lifesaving) that they are in need of.

Many a health insurance company now also offers catastrophic health insurance. A catastrophic health plan is something that everyone should be opting into, as you never really know when disaster will strike. Of course, many of us try to stay in good shape and live a healthy lifestyle – but this certainly does not mean that you won’t fall victim to accident and injury. Various chronic health conditions such as cancer can also occur in otherwise healthy people and the treatments surrounding them are hugely expensive indeed. Fortunately, having the health insurance necessary to deal with such conditions or serious injuries is something that more and more people are opting into, especially as emergency room costs and other such hospital costs continue to climb. The data even shows that just one visit to the ER alone is likely to cost you well over $1,000 when all is said and done.

But health insurance is good for more typical care as well. After all, more than 40% of all Millennials will try to avoid going to the emergency room as much as possible, instead opting to go somewhere such as a walk in clinic instead. In such places, high quality healthcare can still be obtained – and health insurance still accepted. Going to an urgent care center for a more minor injury or illness – or even a moderate one – is often the most cost effective decision to make, even if the healthcare coverage any given person has is good.

Of course, health insurance is necessary for wellness checks as well, as each adult person should be going in for a wellness check up at least once throughout the course of a year. In addition to this, children will need an even higher number of wellness checks, particularly in the first couple years of life. Part of this is linked to the fact that it is during this period that children will need to receive the brunt of their vaccinations to keep them safe from many a disease in today’s world. Fortunately, the vast majority of health insurance will cover these visits, allowing parents to keep their kids healthy and on track for the long term, protecting them from various illnesses well into their adult years.

At the end of the day, health insurance is a hugely important thing to have. Fortunately, health insurance is now more widely accessible than ever, and more people are insured throughout the country than ever before. For many people, this insurance is key and critical to staying healthy in the long run, as health insurance can cover everything from injury to illness to well check up visits. Therefore, there is no denying its overall importance in the least.