Can I take a health insurance in the USA?

Note from Al Qalam: Due to the length of the query, there will be no benefit to reproduce it on here.The questionnaire (US citizen) has asked regarding the permissibility of taking a health insurance in his country as he is in a constant need of medical treatment.

For an understanding of the situation, below is an example of the potential medical cost that one may face in the US:

“One night last summer at her home near Stamford, Conn., a 64-year-old former sales clerk whom I’ll call Janice S. felt chest pains. She was taken four miles by ambulance to the emergency room at Stamford Hospital, officially a nonprofit institution. After about three hours of tests and some brief encounters with a doctor, she was told she had indigestion and sent home. That was the good news. The bad news was the bill: $995 for the ambulance ride, $3,000 for the doctors and $17,000 for the hospital — in sum, $21,000 for a false alarm.” http://time.com/198/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/

 

 الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب

A: The manner in which conventional health care insurance is structured means that it falls foul of the sharia prohibitions of riba, gharar and qimar. However, if the cost of medical treatment is unreasonably high and there is no permissible scheme available then, on the basis of need, one may take out medical insurance for essential medical treatment.

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