Women Unprepared for Medical Emergencies

 

As reported by BankRate.com, the U.S. government predicts that household out-of-pocket health care expenses will reach an average of $3,301 per year by 2014.  Now is a great time to remind female readers to empower themselves by preparing financially for the realities of healthcare costs.

In the US, women’s lifetime risk of developing cancer is a little more than 1 in 3 according to the American Cancer Society (Cancer Fact & Figures 2012).  In addition, the National Safety Council (Injury Facts 2011 edition) says that more than 38.9 million medically consulted injuries occur in a year.  However, the recent Aflac Workforces Report reveals that women may be overly optimistic about their chances of encountering a medical crisis. 

·         62% of women think that is not likely that they or a family will experience a serious illness, such as cancer
·         76% of women think that is not likely that they or a family will become disabled
·         65% of women think that is not likely that they or a family will experience a car accident

While it’s great that women have a positive outlook on life, unfortunately this results in women not being prepared to deal with a medical emergency. 

·         52% of women said that they are not prepared to pay for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by major medical/health insurance, and only 39% of women are somewhat prepared. 
·         34% of women have less than $500 to pay for themselves or a family member’s out-of pocket expense associated with an unexpected medical emergency and 59% have less than $1000. 

Voluntary insurance options, such as those offered by Aflac, pays cash benefits that can support out-of-pocket medical costs and daily living expenses such as rent, gas, groceries, babysitting and other necessities, as determined by the policyholder.  Plans include critical illness, accident and short-term disability, to name a few.