First, for some people catastrophic health insurance is the only health care they can afford and it is far better that they have access to some health care rather than none.  Indeed, a lot of the most essential medical expenses are covered by the policy; things like x-rays surgery and hospital care.
Second,  catastrophic health insurance really is cheap. Prices start from around $30 and for all of its problems, that is $30 well spent, especially if something goes  catastrophically wrong, and at the end of the day that is what the health care is designed for.

Third, for people who are generally healthy and have a relatively safe job, then  catastrophic health insurance can be a good choice. And with some policies having fairly high life time benefits (some go as high as ($5 million) then you might be able to get away without having full health insurance.

Fourth,  catastrophic health insurance offers at least some health care for those people who’s companies do not offer health care but know that they still need it.
Finally, for young professionals who have a healthy bank balance then  catastrophic health insurance fills the only problem they have in terms of paying for health care and that is what to do if things go really badly wrong. Such people know they can cover small expenses such as a trip to the doctor or a prescription but they really do need  catastrophic health insurance in case something goes really badly wrong.

First, catastrophic health insurance often excludes coverage in a worryingly large number of situations. Pregnant women, those on prescription drugs and even people just requiring a visit to the doctor’s office are not covered such catastrophic health insurance policies. This means that the thousands of people who rely on catastrophic health insurance do not seek the medical care they really need for the financial cost they would incur.

Second, the deductibles which are common for such policies often are set so high that they do not cover the most common of treatments. As above this problem with catastrophic health insurance prevents people who really require medical care from receiving it.

Third, the life time benefit is frequently set far too low on these catastrophic health insurance policies to be actual adequate for anybody’s life-time! People have to pick and choose when to get health care. Can I afford to go and have this surgery done? Or might something more serious be coming up? In a modern, rich society these are not choices people should have to make but they are the choices that  catastrophic health insurance forces upon people.

Finally,  as one of the only low cost forms of health care out there,  catastrophic health insurance means that those who cannot afford full blown health care are often made to ask the question of whether they can do without any health care at all – especially as  catastrophic health insurance is so inadequate. For the admittedly small number who do opt for this option and do get ill then they are up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Is  catastrophic health insurance all negative?

Most of the time people opt for catastrophic health insurance as it is a cheap alternative to more comprehensive health care. Some Blue Cross companies offer insurance starting at just $29 per month – a rate which is affordable for most.

This is also the pull for those people who are self-employed and need health cover. Without an employer to provide health care, catastrophic health insurance is the only solution.

Even those who are employed by a company are sometimes forced to take out catastrophic health insurance if their company doesn’t offer any health insurance. For this group of people it is often necessity that causes the decision rather than choice.

Indeed, taking out catastrophic health insurance is quite a gamble. Essentially the person who takes out the policy is betting that they will be able to afford the often very high deductibles and will not require health care that exceeds their life time maximum. With deductibles for catastrophic health insurance sometimes entering the thousands and life time maximum benefits being perhaps as low as 1 million dollars, it is a risk indeed.

It is so easy to imagine a huge number of situations where a medical expense wouldn’t reach the deductible offered by catastrophic health insurance. Simple things like an X-ray after a fall playing football or a brief trip to the ER after a slip. That is to say nothing of the numerous exclusions that exist on such catastrophic health insurance policies, such as pregnancies for the first year after birth.