As the cost of medical care increases, it has become increasingly important for people to obtain health insurance to maintain access to preventative and emergency health care and afford treatment. Without health insurance, a person has limited access to physicians and specialists and generally pays more for health care, especially emergency treatment. The average total of charges for a four-day hospital stay for an uninsured person can reach more than $19,000, according to a February 2009 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report.
