Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan lives up to the title of his hit film Everything Everywhere All at Once and soaks up the success of the critically acclaimed sci-fi adventure film – but his path to award-winning stardom has been far from straightforward.
The former Indiana Jones and The Goonies child star recently appeared on The Late Late Show with James Cordenwhere he revealed he lost his health insurance when the film industry froze due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“I couldn’t get a single job,” he said. “And sure enough, 2021 came and went and I lost my health insurance.”
Quan’s admission caught the attention of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who tweeted: “This Oscar-nominated actor lost his health insurance during the pandemic after filming his last film. How absurd is that? It makes no sense to me, you, or anyone else in this country that your ability to see a doctor should be treated as a work perk rather than a human right.”
Challenges in health insurance
Quan, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 95th Academy Awards, was one of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs — and their health insurance — during the pandemic.
He told James Corden that filming on Everything Everywhere All at Once was halted for eight months in 2021.
“All this time I have been at home trying to stay safe like everyone else [else],” he said. “My agent was sending me all these auditions and I was sending in self-videos — and I couldn’t get a single job.”
Quan said he was so nervous about losing his health insurance in the middle of a pandemic that he would have accepted any acting job just to qualify for coverage. But his search for work was unsuccessful.
Quan faced a sea of rejections and questioned his acting skills. He called his producer of Everything Everywhere All at Once to ask him if he would be good in the film – and he got the answer: “Just wait!”
While Quan’s fortunes have taken a turn, the actor’s hiatus insurance woes highlight a challenge facing millions of Americans who depend on work-related coverage: If you lose your job, your health insurance coverage ends.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), around 26 million people in the US remain without health insurance.
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It can be difficult to cope with everything, everywhere, at the same time – especially when it comes to your personal and financial health. Here are three ways to manage unexpected healthcare expenses.
Consider your coverage options
Medicare Benefitsor “free” health insurance plans, do not take effect until age 65.
If you haven’t reached this milestone yet, there are several ways to get reliable, affordable health insurance. For example, you can access coverage through COBRA, the marketplace subsidized by the Affordable Care Act, or a public plan like Medicaid. However, many health plans are costly and confusing, so it may be worth consulting an expert to find the best plan for you.
it is important, that Sign up for coverage as soon as possible to avoid leaving you uninsured and paying for healthcare out of your own pocket.
Some plans have a time-sensitive enrollment period, so it pays to do your research and act quickly to find the coverage that best suits your needs.
Set up an HSA
A Health Savings Account or HSA, is a tax-deferred account for medical expenses only. It aims to help people set aside money for routine medical expenses and the inevitable healthcare emergencies.
You can only set up an HSA if you are insured under a high deductible health plan (HDHP).
For 2023, the IRS defines an HDHP as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,500 for an individual or $3,000 for a family. Total annual HDHP expenses (including deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance) cannot exceed $7,500 for an individual or $15,000 for a family.
Most employers who offer HDHPs allow their employees to open an HSA, but if they don’t, you can open one through a bank or investment firm.
There are annual caps on HSA contributions, but unused funds roll over from year to year, allowing you to save even more over the long term. This year, individuals can add up to $3,650 and families $7,300 to their accounts.
The Money can be withdrawn tax-free to cover your deductible and co-payments, as well as expenses that insurance often doesn’t cover, such as glasses, visits to a chiropractor, care of service animals, and breast pumps.
Manage your debt and build an emergency fund
Remember, no one is immune from unexpected health emergencies — and they can become very expensive very fast.
It’s difficult to cover unexpected expenses when you’re already paying off debt. If you are healthy, you should take steps to reduce your debt burden.
For example, you can try or consider negotiating with your lender Debt Consolidation Planthat combines your various debts into one simplified loan, often with a lower interest rate.
A emergency fund can help you weather financial storms such as B. longer hospital stays or illnesses where insurance or Medicare does not cover the full cost.
You can build this fund in an HSA or by using high yield savings products such as Money Market Deposit Accounts (MMDA), a Certificate of Deposit (CD) and savings accounts.
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This article is informational only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without any guarantee.
Source : finance.yahoo.com