A staggering 20% of adult Americans state that they are not able to afford acceptable health care according to the latest figures released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). So, are you one of the more than forty million people who are not able to sleep soundly for fear of being unable to pay for the cost of medical treatment in the event of illness or accident? Perhaps more to the point, have you got to be amongst the forty million?

The CDC report which was put out in 2007 and investigated health in the US looked in detail at a number of aspects of health care and revealed amongst other things that:

1. 10% of people are presently not able to afford the cost of prescription medicines.

2. 10% of people put off having medical treatment because of the price.

3. No fewer than nearly one out of three young people aged between 18 and 24 do not have a normal source of medical treatment or health insurance.

4. 10% of people between the ages of 45 and 64 do not have a normal source of medical treatment and roughly fifty percent of these adults find themselves with high blood pressure, major heart conditions or diabetes.

5. One out of every 5 people below 65 years of age are not insured for at least a portion of each year, with most having no insurance throughout the 12 month period.

A lot of Americans are fortunate enough to receive insurance cover for themselves and their families through schemes run by their employer, however escalating costs are forcing a growing number of employers to reduce their group health care plans or to drop them altogether. There are however also many millions of Americans who cannot get cover from their employer and who need to arrange their own insurance cover. It is for this latter group that health insurance is frequently considered to be simply too expensive.

So should you dismiss the idea of purchasing medical insurance simply because you believe that it costs too much? Health insurance comes in all shapes and sizes and, although a traditional fee-for-service plan can be very expensive, there are a lot of less expensive options.

In very simple terms medical insurance plans fall into two broad categories comprising disability plans and medical expense plans. The former is designed to cover your loss of income if you are no longer able to work because of disability while the latter covers you for the cost of medical treatment arising out of accident or injury.

Each of these forms of medical insurance can be written as a single policy or separately and individual plans can again be broken down to provide cover for specific areas like accident coverage, major medical expenses, hospital care, basic medical expenses and a great deal more.

Furthermore, cover can now be provided by not just traditional insurance companies, but also by several group organizations, companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations, each of which can provide a range of plans with payment options which suit more or less every budget.

If you have been frightened by the thought that you cannot afford health insurance then think again. You may not be in a position to purchase a fully comprehensive policy covering every possible eventuality but the odds are that you will be able to find a policy which will give you enough coverage to allow you peace of mind.