Private health insurance is a popular insurance component, but it isn't for everyone. Learn the pros and cons of having it, and decide if it's right for you.

Let's start with the pros.

It covers medical expenses  
A private health insurance policy covers certain medical expenses that public health system or Medicare doesn't.

It covers (some) hospital expenses
In the event that you'll require hospitalization, a private insurance policy could cover some of your expenses, and you'll be treated like a private patient.

And now for the cons - and there's a big one:

The cost
This will be a real problem if you're already in poor health and don't have any kind of group coverage. Usually, individual health insurance policies can cost around a few 100s of dollars a month.