A listener asks: Could NOT having insurance be a better deal?

An Arm and a Leg

03-11-2022 • 26 mins

It’s open enrollment for 2023 health insurance for lots of folks — a time when you might find yourself asking: what good is health insurance anyway?


One listener wrote to us about his son, a student with no income. Dad asks, If the son could get charity care (financial assistance) at his local hospital….  should he bother getting health insurance?


The big picture question: If you’re broke, and can’t get insurance from work, what are your best options?

The big picture answer:  It totally depends!


  • Do you live in a state that expanded Medicaid?
  • What are the financial-assistance policies like at the hospitals around you?
  • What kind of health care do you know you’re going to need?


We had expert help here:   Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, and . Jared Walker, founder of Dollar For, and a super-expert on charity care.


If you want to go deeper:


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