The Consequences of Being Uninsured on the Family

When you don't have car or health insurance, it affects everyone in your family. A sudden accident or illness has the potential to plunge the family into debt or even bankruptcy, and that threat has both subtle and overt influence on family decisions. You'll probably be less likely to allow your child to try out for school sports; you may drive less; and you may feel overshadowed by the worry of what you'll do if a crisis occurs.

Fewer Doctor Visits

• When your family has no health insurance plan in place to help pay for doctor visits, you're less likely to go for checkups when you're well or for care when you're sick. You're less likely to get the health screenings that would catch illness in its early, most treatable stages. When someone in your family does get sick, you're more likely to depend on unproven home remedies or to go to the emergency room for care, according to the "Western Journal of Medicine."

Less Likely to Participate

• When you know that a serious accident could plunge the family into debt, you may hesitate to engage in activities that might result in one. You may decline sports or school activities for your children. You may also avoid attending church, social or club meetings to reduce your risk of a car accident. Those without health insurance are billed for needed medical care even when a car accident wasn't their fault. They're also often billed at retail rates for medical care, as opposed to the wholesale rates they'd pay if they had health insurance, according to money coach Clark Howard.

Inaccurate Information

• Those who don't have a regular doctor through an insurance plan are less likely to have accurate information about the nature and treatment of their illnesses, according to the "Western Journal of Medicine." Medical advice gleaned from other sources, such as the Internet, may be ineffective, or, at worst, disastrous. Some sites on the Internet that promise to dispense drugs or health-care services or claim to be health "discount" clubs are scams that prey on people desperate for affordable care.

Health Care Options

• If you don't have health care coverage through your job, and can't afford the high cost of a private health care insurance policy, there are alternatives. You can search for free government health clinics that allow you to pay what you're able to afford. Dental colleges sometimes offer student dental care at a greatly reduced rate. If you've been locked out of health care insurance because of a pre-existing condition, the Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010 allows you to purchase health insurance plans that will accept you even though you have an existing illness.