Are you missing out on free health care?
Do you have health insurance through your job, healthcare.gov, or Medicare? Some important health care services come at no cost to you with your health plan.
Do you have health insurance through your job, healthcare.gov, or Medicare? Some important health care services come at no cost to you with your health plan.
That's right—you get them for free, with no co-pays or deductible. You walk in. You get a checkup, lab test, or screening. You walk out. No payment, and no bills in the mail.
I can hear the skeptics now. Is this a case of "you get what you pay for"? Just how valuable is this free stuff?
You decide, based on these highlights from the official list of free preventive health services:
Yearly checkups for many people, including women and children.
Did you just start a family? You get six checkups for your baby during the first year (and twice a year or yearly checkups through age 18). Childhood vaccinations are free. As are many other checkups and services your child might need.
Worried about cancer? Put your mind at rest with free screenings for lung, colon, and other cancers. At risk women can get free genetic counseling for breast cancer. Remember, success in fighting cancer will come easier if you find it early.
Getting older? Free Medicare services help you guard against high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma, and other diseases that can come with age.
Want to stay healthy this winter? You can get a flu shot at no cost.
National experts have decided that these free preventive health services are "must-haves" to:
Keep you, and your family, as healthy as possible
Catch serious diseases early
Save lives
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that we could save 100,000 lives a year if all Americans got the right preventive health services at the right time.
So please, learn more about these important services. (Note the warning: you must go to a doctor or provider in your plan's network. Otherwise, you might be billed. There is also a small number of health insurance plans that existed prior to enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 may not cover all the preventive services discussed here.)
I wonder how many people in Pennsylvania are missing out on free preventive health care.
In a recent survey, four out of every five people were confused about their free preventive health services. Many people skipped services out of fear that they cost too much. And all the while, they were free!
How many lives in our state could be saved if we all took advantage of the preventive health services that come free with our health insurance?
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