Healthpocalypse, Pt. 2: Navigating Health Care with Low Coverage or No Health Insurance
- Tawanda Jazz
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
“We have never seen health as a right. It has been conceived as a privilege, available only to those who can afford it. This is the real reason the American health care system is in such a scandalous state.”
— Shirley Chisholm
In part 1 of this article (published last year), I wrote about how to take care of your own health as prescriptions become harder to get and doctor appointments are booked out for the year. However, now (in the fall of 2025), the situation has worsened, and access to affordable health insurance is disappearing for many Americans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Health Care Act. Medicaid is being cut or severely restricted all over the U.S., and it isn't an exaggeration to say that millions of people with insurance through healthcare.gov (24 million are enrolled) will either have sharply reduced benefits (from having to choose the cheapest plan), or no health insurance at all in 2026.
And to the general public, this issue goes beyond political leanings. À poll recently conducted by KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization, included republicans, democrats, MAGA supporters, and independents. It was found that "78% of the public... think Congress should extend the premium tax credits beyond 2025".
We are talking about people's lives. Their well-being. Mine and yours. The period of time when we could depend on the federal government to support our health and well-being during times of struggle is coming to a close. So, what do we do when we are the only ones we can count on?
Explore High-Deductible Plans With a Health Savings Account (HSA)
If you have a traditional health plan, you may want to look into High Deductible Plans (HDHP) as a cheaper alternative that still provides protection and savings. Both traditional health plans and HDHPs have a total cost that includes:
The insurance premium (the amount you pay monthly)
The deductible (the amount you must pay before your insurance starts to pay out for all services— some services may be covered even before the deductible is met)
The coinsurance/copay (your portion of the payment for a visit or medical service).
What makes the HDHPs different is that the premiums are much lower, but the deductible (and sometimes the coinsurance) are more expensive. Because of this, people who have high medical expenses every year may want to stick with a traditional plan. However, if your general medical expenses are low to moderate, you very well might be able to swing a HDHP. Coinsurance costs, prescription costs, out-of-network provider policies, and out-of-pocket maximums for the plans should also be compared.
A main feature of HDHPs is the HSA, or Health Savings Account. An HSA is an account that you pay into that can be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as a deductible, laboratory test or medical supplies (even some supplements, if they are prescribed by your PCP), either now or sometime in the future.
Any money you put into the HSA reduces your taxable income. So if you were to put $200/month into your HSA for a year, your taxable income would be lowered by $2,400.
Any money in your HSA earns you interest.
You can take distributions (make withdrawals or use your HSA debit card) for qualified medical expenses without paying extra taxes. Keep in mind, if you use the card without checking to see if your expense is covered (or for something that is non-medical), you will get a 20% penalty fee with tax added.
Check out concierge doctors & medical offices
Concierge doctors and medical offices are something that only rich people used to be able to afford and access, but affordable concierge providers (or DPCs) are much more common now. Think of a concierge doctor as a subscription. You pay a monthly fee, and the doctor offers certain services that are all covered by that one fee. For example, a concierge doc in my city charges between $70-$110 a month, and and the services include:
A maximum of 20 office visits per year
Annual preventative care physicals, annual lab tests, women's preventative wellness checks, and more
Acute illness/issue treatments, like if you get sick or get infections, have gastrointestinal issues, or get an injury.
Chronic issue care, for example, treating diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, or other illnesses.
Joint injections for pain relief and increased mobility
Benign cyst drainage and abscess incisions
Electrocardiograms (EKGs) to check heart health
Nebulizer treatments for COPD and asthma
Biopsies and treatments of suspicious lesions or moles
You could also consider combining a concierge doctors membership with catastrophic or Emergency health insurance, which usually only covers emergency room visits, urgent care, and ambulance rides (and some plans cover hospital stays as well).
Do the research.
I don't mean post a question on social media or read a cobbled-together AI summary. You really need to research every health ailment you have, every prescription or supplement you take. This means using unbiased science literature, or if that's not easy for you (because, face it, only some of us are scientists), go to the sites listed in the resources section at the end of this article, some of which tend to break things down in plain English. If you have a heart arrythmia and you can't afford the meds and can't get into a cardiologist for six months, search for "heart arrythmia" and "diet" together. See if there are any studies that have been done on foods you should eat or avoid for your condition. Do the same with lifestyle factors (exercise, smoking etc.) and see what you find. Keep a record of anything that sounds good or doable, so that you don't have to remember it. Oftentimes, people on multiple medications find out that one of the medications they are taking is causing one of their other health problems. Learn the word "contraindications". That means (in medical terms):
Contraindication: something (such as a symptom or condition) that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable.
—Merriam-Webster dictionary
For instance, if you have a calcium absorption problem and your new prescription has a side effect of lowering calcium absorption, that is a contraindication, and that medication is most likely not right for you.
Be physically active daily.
This doesn't mean you have to hit the gym or go on a long hike every day. That is exercise. Physical activity is what our bodies were built to do—walking, bending, squatting, Twisting, reaching, carrying. It is incredibly unnatural for humans to be as sedentary as most of us are. Work is usually sedentary (even in restaurants and fast food joints, because standing and sometimes walking doesn't necessarily get your joints oiled up). If you are a construction worker, landscaper, or other type of physical laborer, congratulations—you are definitely physically active. The rest of us need to catch up! Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is always a recommendation thrown out there, but not the best choice for people who have pain when going up stairs. Riding a bike is a great low-impact activity, and has been shown in multiple studies to actually improve movement and inflammation in patients with knee arthritis. I find that if my knee is acting up, a bike ride is just what it needs. Find your groove. Switch to air hockey instead of video games, or explore paintball or laser tag instead of watching sports or going out for a drink.
Read part 1 of this article in the Related Posts section below for more ideas for taking your health into your own hands. As you can see, even with this atrocity happening in our country, we still have other options—and facing the uncertainty of these times with a solid plan will increase our resiliency and strength moving forward.
Online Resources:
Examine.com: Examine.com analyzes and summarizes research to determine which supplements and non-pharmaceutical interventions works.
Dr. Axe: Has a lot of information about supplements, herbs, food/diet, and medical conditions that usually cites studies or research.
Medical News Today: A good source for science-based medical information and news.
When There is No Doctor: A classic, easy-to-read medical survival book, good for learning medical skills to use in an emergency or dire circumstances.
BioMed Central: Free access to the highly rated journals published by BioMed Central.
Free Medical Journals: Promoting free access to medical journals. Provides links to many journals that are available free online, either completely or partially.
Global Health and Human Rights Database: A free online database of law from around the world relating to health and human rights
National Academies Press: Free download of all PDFs in education, science, medicine, engineering and more.
Native Health Database: Bibliographic information and abstracts of health-related articles, reports, surveys, and other resource documents pertaining to the health and health care of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Nations.
NCBI: Bookshelf: A collection of free online biomedical textbooks courtesy of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
PTSDpubs: An index to the worldwide literature on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health consequences of exposure to traumatic events.
PLoS: The Public Library of Science provides free access to the full-text of all of their highly rated journals.
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