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What You Should Know To Save Money On Healthcare
by: Irina
This digest-analysis of several key aspects
of the current healthcare crisis in the U.S. may help the readers
become more educated consumers of healthcare services.
Why so expensive?
Roughly 15.1% of the U.S. GDP (gross domestic
product) is spent on healthcare
that averages $5,198 per person per year. The numbers are expected
to reach 17.9% of the GDP and $7,352 per person in 2005.
It wasn't always that way. In 1960, America's
health bill was only $141 per person and nearly everyone was able
to pay it out of pocket. What happened? Two key developments:
1) free market was abandoned in favor of
government- or employer-sponsored prepaid plans. Individuals no
longer paid the bills and NO LONGER CARED what things cost.
2) technology exploded. New and better diagnostic
and therapeutic techniques were developed. And everyone demanded
the best REGARDLESS OF COST.
Does Joe Average pay for you, or on the contrary?
In a given one-year time period, 50% of insured
Americans don't go to the doctor. Another 30% claim less than $500.
THE REMAINING 20% CONSUME 80% of the $1.1 trillion annually. Only
half of them indeed has serious chronic conditions or naturally
induced traumatic symptoms. The remaining half is suffering LIFESTYLE
DISORDERS like overeating, drinking, using drugs, practicing poor
sex habits, not wearing helmets, seat belts, etc.
With health
insurance you never get what you paid for. The numbers above
suggest that for most of us it's LESS much more often than MORE.
Vanishing insurance
Not long ago getting a job meant getting
a good health benefits -- now there are 44 million uninsured Americans.
Not necessarily due to poverty, since over 25% of them make more
than $50,000 a year. The trend also reflects the increasing number
of self-employed and small businesses without health benefits.
Even more Americans will be uninsured in
the future as increasing costs and patient rights laws force more
employers to drop or cut back on health benefits. Bottom line --
those still insured will have to pay even more for Joe's LIFESTYLE
DISORDERS.
What to expect
- The average price of prescriptions is rising
4% per year; - The average senior citizen takes 3.3 medications
every day; - 60% Americans require corrective lenses; - Over 33
million need hearing aids -- yet only 6% can afford them; - 19 million
Americans use chiropractic services that are not covered by insurance;
- Approximately 10 million suffer from substance abuse -- the cost
of treating this illness is often not covered by insurance; - Another
5 million are suffering from mental illness that again is often
not covered.
The solution
Americans spend nearly $200 billion annually
on OUT OF POCKET healthcare expenses or nearly $1,000 per person
per year. Most of this is paid for at FULL RETAIL prices.
As a solution to rising costs consider a
MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT. This concept is like an IRA for healthcare.
Instead of sending ever-increasing premiums to a black hole called
insurance company, you buy a high deductible "catastrophe"
plan and pay for the everyday health maintenance and routine medical
procedures out of pocket with the help of your tax-free medical
savings account.
You can further minimize your out-of-pocket
healthcare expenses through various Healthcare Savings Programs.
They negotiate prices on behalf of their members and provide access
to the same networks of healthcare providers that large insurance
companies use. The service is available for a modest monthly fee
that is only a fraction of an insurance
premium for similar coverage. No long-term commitment is required
and -- to make these programs even more appealing -- all pre-existing
conditions are accepted. For example and details see http://www.careentree.com/310559
Summary
Healthcare today is 50(!) times more expensive
than it used to be in the 1960s and shows no sign of getting any
cheaper. There is no free lunch in America -- the only way to save
money on healthcare is to understand current trends and take appropriate
action.
(C) by Irina 2003.
About the Author: Irina runs home-based business helping people
save on health care and create steady stream of residual income
working from home http://www.megaone.com/hbb/savemoney/
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