The bottom line is that health insurance doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. There are significant financial risks and physical health costs to living without health insurance—it only takes one major uninsured injury, accident or illness to leave you with big bills that can take a long time to pay off -- and you owe it to yourself and your family to see if you can do anything about that.

Regardless of whether or not you’re convinced of the importance of having health insurance – to provide for your family’s medical needs and protect your financial assets – beginning in 2014 you are going to be required by law to purchase health insurance. If you don’t you could be fined - up to a maximum amount of $695 or 2.5% of your taxable income. The fines will be calculated based on personal income and will be phased in beginning in 2014. If you cannot get health insurance through your workplace (either because it’s not offered or because you cannot afford the coverage), you may be able to qualify for a federal subsidy to purchase coverage

Do a little homework a little bit at a time (remember this process takes time) to see what the costs are and what the risks are of not doing anything. Try to gradually work your way up the insurance ladder, purchasing what you can afford that makes financial and practical sense. Keep your eye on the long-term goal of securing full coverage for yourself and your dependents. Then save money and budget to gradually increase the coverage you can purchase for yourself and your dependents.