Medical Money Malady

Medical money spent for your basic healthcare is expensive. The new medication will cost you $1000 full pay. The cardiac test will cost you $1000 for your portion of the $15,000 full price.  Your portion of the physical therapy evaluation with a provider out of your insurance network will cost $500. In or out of your insurance network is expensive.  If you lack health insurance, it is more expensive.  How do you choose what medication, treatment, or procedure to get? Is treatment more important than prevention?  If it was prevented treatment may be unnecessary.  

Medical care today is expensive and complicated.  More unhealthy chronic conditions make medical treatment complex and costly.  Many average household budgets are barely able to get proper nutrition and housing.  Health insurance is less affordable.  This leads to less prevention care, lifestyle maintenance care, and more treatment care. The cost of prevention is most likely less that treatment for chronic disease. As health insurance costs rises, personal deductibles and co-pays increase.  Being unable to pay for basic health insurance usually means less medical care including health maintenance! 

Chronic disease will become more chronic and more expensive to treat!  The rising cost of healthcare including health insurance leads to more money spent by the patient.  Along with the overall economic inflation (especially food), certain expenses are liable to be dropped.  Health insurance and medication are likely to be discontinued or decreased so one can afford housing, food, gas, clothes, and more basic needs.

More prevention care, lifestyle maintenance care, and less treatment care is critical care.  One of the best things a patient can do is to continue with a healthy lifestyle for you and your family.  When you eat nutritious food, your grocery bill can be healthier as well. Exercise keeps you moving and with less pain.  It also helps decrease stress creating mental health clarity and good mood.  Add daily meditation and prayer for more mental health benefits.  Healthy is less stressful for your medical care with less doctor visits, tests, and medication. Healthy lifestyle in itself is a lifesaver and money saver.  Best health!

More medical money information: MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: money

  

Your Medical History and Medical Prevention Guidelines

Preventive health guidelines were developed to improve one’s health using things that prevent disease and detect it early.  They are based on credible research in which the criteria have been studied extensively.  The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a leading resource for preventive health guidelines along with doctor specialty organizations like the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics.  There are so many that it can become confusing as to what you should do.  Like one size fails to fit all so do the guidelines. How will you know what you need and when you need it?

 
Use your medical history as your guide in deciphering through different health organization guidelines.   Though they may address the same thing, there will be similarities and differences.  If you have a history of cancer, you may want to get a mammogram or colonoscopy more often. If there is a family history, you may want to get tests sooner than the guidelines suggest.  Abnormal physical exam findings warrant testing regardless of guidelines.
 
Be sure to review guidelines from different organizations. This gives you a broader view of what you need.  Look at the pros and cons as they fit you.  Focus on those that concern you and your condition.  Discuss them all with your doctors and healthcare providers to plan your guidelines. Your medical history is your guide to the guidelines right for you.  Best health!