Preventive Healthcare
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Preventive Healthcare: The Cheapest Way To Stay Healthy
by: Irina
Who won't agree that prevention is the most
economical form of healthcare?
Yet, a recent government study showed that 55% of all Americans
do not receive preventive services such as: - immunizations, - screening
tests, and - education about healthy habits and injury prevention.
It used to be simple: everyone needed a standardized
"complete physical" exam once a year. But in the 1980s,
an independent committee of physicians called the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force concluded that over the long run, it doesn't
pay off in terms of better health and longer life.
The good old head-to-toe physical became
unnecessary for healthy people, since it yields too few benefits
for its cost. Some routine tests, such as chest X-rays, electrocardiograms
(EKGs), urine tests, and complete blood counts are now reserved
only for people with symptoms or risk factors.
No wonder that both doctors and patients
are confused by contradictory recommendations. What should a medical
checkup consist of? Does everybody need an annual physical? Should
all men get a PSA test? At what age should a woman start having
mammograms?
Experts will continue to argue, but each
of us has to make his/her own choice. With insurance premiums constantly
rising, simply getting an access to preventive services is a serious
financial challenge, but there are some alternatives that give us
hope.
The most promising is the idea of so-called
patient advocacy via health care
savings programs. The availability and popularity of these programs
is picking up year after year, as more and more people, unable to
get or afford health insurance, are discovering them for the first
time. These programs negotiate prices with health care providers
on behalf of their members. Since they represent large groups, the
resulting discounts are usually the same that the hospitals and
physicians give to big insurance companies.
Unlike traditional insurance model, the patient
advocacy actually encourages people to seek medical help as soon
as the need arises thus preventing "little aches" form
developing into life-threatening illnesses and financial disasters.
Monthly membership fee is affordable and no one can be turned down
because of a pre-existing condition.
Many of such programs also allow their members
to contribute money to medical savings accounts. Federal law makes
this an attractive option, because medical savings accounts are
tax deductible or not taxable at all, as long as the funds are used
to pay for healthcare.
(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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