After watching President Bush’s State of the Union address and hearing the commentary from congressional representatives and news anchors I had to ask myself this very question. 

How can YOU get affordable medical care? 

That’s the million …or best said….billion dollar question facing politicians and other law makers today.  Millions of people in the US don’t have any medical insurance and those that can afford insurance are finding out that what they’re paying for doesn’t cover what they need.  Additionally, millions of people over the age of 65 are struggling to find ways to afford to buy their monthly supply of medications on a fixed income.  Many people are traveling to Canada to buy their medications and I heard the most amazing story last Saturday while I was at the nail salon….

I heard that women (and men, too) are traveling all over the world to get plastic surgery….from breast augmentation, face lifts, eyelid lifts, tummy tucks, to other outrageous “enhancements” that even I am too embarassed to say.  Now what does this say about the US healthcare system?  Have we forgotten about this huge section of our population that doesn’t have adequate healthcare coverage?  Have we ignored the cries of children and adults alike who are struggling to make ends meet and can’t imagine paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars every month to buy health insurance?  Are taxes so high that small businesses can’t even afford to offer their employees health insurance and just hope that their employees never get sick or miss a day of work? 

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer or solution to the question of how to get affordable medical care but there are ways to maneuver through our system to get the care that you need.

The first step is find out about your local resources.  Check out the local paper or the local hospitals.  They usually have information on upcoming health fairs or health screenings where you can get your blood pressure or even cholesterol checked.  If you have a local health department, go take a visit.  Most health departments are state or county run and will see local residents for routine medical evaluations and even speciality visits.  Payment is typically on a sliding scale so they take into consideration how much you earn to determine how much you can afford to pay per visit. 

The second step is to ask for assistance from the drug companies to see if you qualify for a medication assistance plan.  While I was in residency, I helped many senior citizens get their medications FREE just by filling out an application form for medication assistance.  Once they were accepted into the program (they had to meet certain income cutoffs) their medications were sent free of charge to my office or directly to their homes. 

For those of you who work for a small (or even large) business that doesn’t offer health insurance, ask your employer if there are any other options for you to get health insurance—especially if a group rate is available.  Sometimes, employers don’t offer health insurance because they think people already have their own health insurance coverage or don’t know if all their employees would be interested in getting health insurance.  So the third step is to get information from your employer about health insurance. 

Step four: For those of you who are offered health insurance by your employer but elect not to pay the premiums for health coverage….rethink your budget.  Can you really afford to get sick or better yet, can you really afford to pay for your medical bills if you do get sick?  Here’s what you may not know.  People who don’t have insurance but need to be hospitalized or seen in the emergency department will pay more for their care than people who have insurance.  Let me explain.  Insurance companies negotiate to pay only a portion of what hospitals, doctors and other medical facilities charge for a procedure or visit.  That means if a hospital charges, let’s say $1,000 for a procedure but the insurance company has already negotiated to pay only $400, the hospital gets paid $400 and you only have to pay a portion of your deductible.  If you’re responsible for 20%, that would be 0.2 times $400 or $80.  Now let’s compare that to what the hospital would charge you directly if you didn’t have insurance–> $1000.00!  $80 versus $1000—you be judge.  Seriously consider getting health insurance if your employer offers it. 

The fifth and final step in getting affordable medical care is to commit to a health lifestyle.  If you focus on living healthy and staying active and fit, you’ll find that you’ll depend less on emergency departments and urgent care visits and can schedule your checkups on your terms. 

Although I’m not a politician or elected official, I am a physician and I see plenty of people everyday struggling to find affordable healthcare options.  Follow my five step process and you’ll be on your way to better healthcare and better health.

 To your wellness,

Dr. Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 5:08 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.