Categories: Articles, Insurance, Medical & Healthcare, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts HEALTH CARE VS HEALTH INSURANCE TASA ID: 3656 Politicians speak of health care and most individuals think of health care in terms of whether or not they have health insurance. Hence there is heightened panic expressed in the news media about the recent removal of the individual and employee mandates and the anticipated millions of additional people without health insurance. The message generated is that all those people will be without health care.This is a myth and very misleading. True, health care actually reflects the direct doctor/patient relationship which exists in the profession of medicine. And, it all starts with a good primary care physician. A good primary care physician is available when you need them, but also curious, highly-trained, and capable of recognizing and communicating to you exactly what health priorities are individually relevant. The amazing thing is that the cost for this is actually a fraction of what most people end up paying for health insurance. For example, a comprehensive new patient exam in our office is $200 and subsequent office visits are only $100. (With health insurance, you pay a monthly premium automatically and then you still have to find a doctor). Appropriate lab fees and EKGs are heavily discounted and; hence, a comprehensive internal medicine checkup in our office is not only affordable, but accurately screens for diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, thyroid disease, anemia, liver, kidney, and electrolyte disorders. Treatment is also truly affordable, particularly given my philosophy of supporting a healthy diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, and being able to provide relevant free samples of medications, when necessary. For most common health problems, including those listed and prevention of heart disease, strokes, antibiotics for various infections, inhalers for asthma, and hormone therapy, to name a few, there is absolutely no requirement for health insurance.Rather, health insurance should be for the big items; e.g. major surgeries and hospitalizations. Therefore, having a high deductible to lower the monthly premiums and paying for primary care directly is the optimal way to go. In addition, our office for the past 15 years, has offered a monthly option of $95 per month, which limits the total cost for primary care services. My patients who have opted for this enjoy unlimited office visits, including all the necessary labs and EKGs for no additional cost. This is particularly attractive for my patients with known chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid conditions, and obesity, who know their health conditions need to be tracked on a regular basis. Many of these patients do not have any health insurance, but take satisfaction in knowing that the best insurance against using your health insurance is seeing their primary care doctor to keep them healthy.This article discusses issues of general interest and does not give any specific legal or business advice pertaining to any specific circumstances. Before acting upon any of its information, you should obtain appropriate advice from a lawyer or other qualified professional.This article may not be duplicated, altered, distributed, saved, incorporated into another document or website, or otherwise modified without the permission of TASA. Contact marketing@TASAnet.com. Previous Article Parental Alienation in Child Custody Litigation Next Article Protect Yourself From Medicolegal Risk Print Tasa ID3656
