Health is very important and unless you are healthy you may not be able to lead a full life. Health care can be preventive or it can be after you fall ill. These days, medical bills are exorbitant. It is difficult for anyone to pay the entire bill himself as they may burn a big hole in the pocket or may dig into the savings.

Health insurance steps in to help. Health insurance can cover illnesses, hospitalizations, medical interventions, disabilities and the like. You never know when you will fall ill and need plenty of money to pay for your medicines and visits to doctors. But if you buy health insurance you do not have to worry. In the event of illness, your health insurance will take care of your expenses. You may be hospitalized, you may need a surgical intervention and you may need plenty of nursing care and medicines. Health insurance will pay for all this.

Of course there are different types of health insurances. Buying a health insurance is like signing an agreement. The insurer agrees to pay medical expenses while you pay a regular amount at fixed intervals. This is called the premium on the health insurance policy. The premium varies depending upon the insurance you have bought. You may have bought it yourself or your employer might have bought it for you or you may have made a group and bought health insurance as a joint venture. You have to first read the policy thoroughly and find out what illnesses are covered. Some insurers do not pay for cosmetic or plastic surgery. Others may not pay for over the counter medicines. Some may pay for the entire illness period. Others may pay partly and expect you to supplement it from your pocket.

There are some insurers who may want you to pay up first and they may reimburse it. Every organization has its own rules and regulations and you have to find out which ones suit you the best and go for them. Some insurers may not pay nursing bills, only surgical procedure and hospitalization ones.

In the US almost ninety per cent people have health insurance either directly or through their employers. Public health insurance programs may cover senior citizens and economically poor ones. Medicare is federal social insurance program for senior citizens while Medicaid is for certain low income group people. In Canada the Canada Health Care is available for all citizens. This covers basic health services. You can opt for specialized services like private hospitals or special rooms if you wish and you can also use private health insurance schemes for medical services like laser surgery or plastic surgery.