Is It Safe To Go Without Health Insurance? 
Of course it is safe to go without health insurance , just like it is safe to drive without a spare tire until you have a flat . Then it becomes a problem . If you are a multi-millionaire and can pay for whatever foreseeable accident or illness that might befall you then you probably do n't `` need '' health insurance . If you are like most Americans then you might not have a pile of money stashed away for an unexpected illness or injury and that is why you have health insurance . This is the kind of bad judgment call that can seriously mess up your financial life and perhaps life in general . Just taking a good fall from your bicycle and needing some orthopedic surgery can cost tens of thousands of dollars -LRB- I recently had a friend have such an experience -RRB- , a normal child birth will probably put you back $ 7000 to $ 10,000 , and would you like that new cure for Hepatitis C ? A bargain at over $ 80,000 for that round of treatment . You may say , I 'll just go to the emergency room at our local public hospital and they 'll treat me and then write it off . Do n't count on it , those days are pretty much over unless you are really , truly poor -LRB- in which case you should be enrolled in Medicaid -RRB- . But with the financial losses and reductions in reimbursement levels that hospitals are contending with these days I can assure you that they will turn you over to collections in an effort to get the money you owe them . 