Health insurance expenses can break the budget for self employed or non-health compensated employees. The system is absolutely too expensive. Institution and doctors routinely price gouge and ruin the concept of affordable health care for the entire country.

My father once told me that if I was in need of expensive and serious medical attention and couldn’t afford the cost, to pick out a bank window, throw a brick through the window and wait for the cops to arrive. He said they’ll give you free room and board and fix your medical problems at no cost.

For those who won’t take my fathers advice and can’t afford high health insurance premiums, these are other alternatives:

Medicaid
Medicaid is a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for certain low-income and needy people. It covers approximately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.

The Medicaid program varies considerably from State to State. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offers more information.

SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched the Insure Kids Now! campaign to link the nation’s 10 million uninsured children to free and low-cost health insurance.

Every state has a health insurance program for infants, children and teens whose families do not qualify for Medicaid. Many families simply don’t know their children are eligible.

The states have different eligibility rules, but in most states, uninsured children 18 years old and younger, whose families earn up to $34,100 a year (for a family of four) are eligible.