Accompanies Lesson: 23
Objectives
Students will:
- define health insurance
- explain the importance of having health insurance
Teacher Notes
Modify the process described in this lesson to fit the actual circumstances in your local community. Encourage your students to develop a relationship and loyalty with one pharmacy/ pharmacist. This way drug interaction problems and special needs may be monitored more closely and conscientiously, with fewer medication problems resulting.
Teaching Questions
Costs of health care obviously will vary by location. A supporting exercise for this lesson is to have students call and find out about specific healthcare costs from their local physician's office. Have them speak to a staff member in the business office to find out standard charges for a brief office visit, an extensive office visit, a day in the hospital, minor surgery, simple blood tests, an X-ray, a trip to the hospital in an ambulance.
Be sure to provide resource options for students who want to learn more about their personal insurance coverage situation. Be sure also to explain that health insurance costs money.
Jack broke his leg. An ambulance came and the medics are helping him get ready to go to the hospital in the ambulance. He will have to have an X-ray, may need surgery to fix his leg, will have to stay overnight in the hospital, and will definitely need to see his doctor.
Is health care expensive? Yes - very expensive! Who will pay for all of this? Jack and his insurance company.
Jack has health insurance that covers most 9f his expenses completely after he pays a deductible of $100.00. What is insurance? Health insurance helps to pay for some (or all) of the costs of health care services that a patient receives.
What is a deductible? An amount of money that the patient must pay (in Jack's case $100) that covers part of the cost of his medical care. The insurance company will pay for the rest. Why do people have health insurance?
LifeFacts Assessment
Ask: Who will pay for all of this? How expensive is health care? What is insurance? What is insurance coverage? Why do people have health insurance?