Sick Away From Home? Here Is What You Should Do

As we celebrate the Thanksgiving next week and more holidays in the coming month, many of us will be traveling to spend time with family and friends. Unfortunately, long car rides, airplane trips, and holiday activities can tire us, run us down, and make us sick. Plus being around all those fellow travelers, family and friends can lead to an easy spread of germs. So, what should you do if you get sick away from home?

Call your doctor. He or she can help you decide the best course of action and whether you need to see a physician where you are currently staying or if it can wait until you get back home and can see your own doctor.

When possible, call the doctor before or after the holiday. If Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or any other holiday is coming up and you feel the first signs of illness, go ahead and call your doctor now. It could be harder to reach a doctor on the holiday or the eve of the holiday when the office is closed but your illness is in full force. Calling your doctor early could prevent a costly holiday trip to the emergency room or urgent care.

Remember, too, that illness may begin before for you travel. Prior to leaving, assess how you are feeling and take action. Do you need to see your doctor? Do you need an antibiotic? Is your child getting an ear infection? Address any concerns before you leave so you’ll be prepared while away from home. And make sure to bring your doctor’s contact information with you.

Getting sick can ruin your holiday and while it may be unavoidable, being aware and having a plan can make handling illness on the road easier.

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Trying to figure out health insurance? Get my book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.

What Preventive Care Health Insurance Covers

It used to be that health insurance plans didn’t necessarily cover well visits and preventive care. Now, however, certain basic services are required to be covered by all health insurance policies, including Medicare. In this video, I explain what is covered.

 

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Trying to figure out health insurance? Get my book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.

How to Choose Health Insurance as a Single Parent

unnamedI am a single mom of two beautiful grown daughters. Early on, I didn’t think much about health insurance. I assumed life would be fine, our family would stay whole and healthy.

Then one of my daughters was born with a life-threatening condition. Later, their father and I decided to divorce and I began to care for the children on my own. At that point, I had some hard decisions to make, one of which was how to make sure I was properly insured for my daughter’s health needs.

This is how life is. You often must make tough choices when you are least prepared. Here is what I did.

First, I recognized the importance of health insurance. My daughter was in and out of the hospital a lot. As a single mom, there was no way for me to pay for all of our medical bills or for the supplies we needed.

After reviewing my employer’s health insurance, I changed jobs so that we could have better health coverage. I was lucky to get a job at the hospital where many of my daughter’s doctors were located. Now there is the option of signing up for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, but at the time, the only way for me to change health insurance was to change jobs.

At that time, I also had to take the risk that my new employer would refuse to pay for my daughter’s care because her condition might be considered pre-existing. Under the Affordable Care Act, you can change jobs and your new employer can’t refuse to cover care due to pre-existing conditions.

Next, I made sure that the doctors and hospitals taking care of my daughter participated in my new insurance plan. It was very important to me that she continue to receive the expert care that she needed with the providers who were already familiar with her case. By making sure those doctors and hospitals participated in my plan, I avoided overwhelming medical bills.

When I first started looking at new insurance plans, I was tempted to just look at the monthly premium cost. I was single mom with a new job, and that monthly cost represented a huge chunk of my paycheck. But my first priority was to keep my daughter’s doctors who had taken such good care of her. If I had gone with a cheaper insurance, I would have had to  to pick new doctors or pay huge bills because those doctors weren’t part of my health plan. By saving $100 a month, I might have been signing up for $1,000s in uncovered expenses.

I’m happy to report that we received amazing care, and both of my daughters are healthy and grown. It was a tough time, but we made it through with great insurance and didn’t get saddled with a ton of medical bills.

When you have tough choices, it can be overwhelming. I know, I’ve been there. But with the right information, you can be have the peace of mind that you’ve made the right decisions for you and your family.

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Trying to figure out health insurance? Get my book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.