Is Health insurance in the wrong

Straydandelion · Aug 28, 2009

Lots of health insurance DO cover yearly screening and preventative care. In the USA the health insurance companies are out for the money ergo it costs less to prevent a problem then treat it once it is there.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2009

Most insurances do pay for those things, but it is up to the patient to do those things.

But to play the devil's advocate. It is our duty to ourselves to get preventative care. House insurance pays for major damage in case of an accident. It does not cover routine expected repairs. Life insurance pays if you die, not for your personal upkeep. Auto insurance covers damage from an accident, but does not pay for maintanence.

Why do we expect health insurance to pay for routine care? That should be our responsibility, to provide proper care and maintenance for ourselves.

That said, I really like having them cover my checkups, though I do pay more for my insurance.

RNperdiem, RN · Aug 28, 2009

Most health insurance plans I have had covered routine physicals for myself and my family.

carolladybelle is right about people being responsible for proper self-care and maintenance.

Many of our patients are knowledgeable about diet, exercise, not smoking and other measures to improve health. It doesn't mean they practice what they know, insurance or not.

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2009

The forgotten and most important factor: Patients and their personal responsibility.

OC_An Khe · Aug 28, 2009

Remember health insurance companies are in the business to produce profits from insurance risk management and not in providing health care. If preventitive and or routine screenings increasae their profits then they will provide them. As soon as the insurance company perceive those tests as a cost then they will stop paying for them.

Cost containment in its simpliest form still does come down to individual responsibility and behavior.

oramar · Aug 28, 2009

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09240/993762-109.stm

MaritesaRN · Aug 28, 2009

Health insurance really only covers you when you actually get sick. Shouldnt health care be placed to a more preventitive type of service where you are screened with lab tests, physicals and taught by health educators. Trying to catch a disease before it gets to a point when you have to go to the hospital. But in this health care system you wait until you start having chest pain and have to get a quadruple bypass. what if a yearly screening could have stopped this.
If you have a problem you dont wait until it gets so bad that you must deal with it. You find the source of the problem so that you can stop it before it happens again!!!

No t that simple the way our current helath system is set up -------that is why we need to tpush the health reforem , so everybody can have the preventive care. It is the insurance company that is setting the rule of the game, and this must change for this is not a viable system in the long run .....it is already run down and people not getting even a treatment when truly needed. What does that tell you about the current health system ? The focus is profit ! Let us change that , the focus should be people !!!

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2009

Health insurance really only covers you when you actually get sick. Shouldnt health care be placed to a more preventitive type of service where you are screened with lab tests, physicals and taught by health educators. Trying to catch a disease before it gets to a point when you have to go to the hospital. But in this health care system you wait until you start having chest pain and have to get a quadruple bypass. what if a yearly screening could have stopped this.
If you have a problem you dont wait until it gets so bad that you must deal with it. You find the source of the problem so that you can stop it before it happens again!!!

YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD.

Health insurance companies, historically, have been reluctant to pay for any sort of screening process and NOW it's kicking them in the a$*. We're not a nation invested in health care, we're a nation invested in SICK care, and until that mentality changes we're going to remain in the same boat we've been in, taking on a bit more water every year.

I back universal primary care to the hilt.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2009

Cost containment in its simpliest form still does come down to individual responsibility and behavior.

This is true - but we're the ONLY DEVELOPED NATION IN THE WORLD whose so-called health care system is run by for-profit insurance companies - and even with the downfalls of universal coverage elsewhere the UNITED STATES has the worst outcomes.

Why? I think one reason is because by the time we go in for our triple bypass, we're so screwed up our bodies simply can't take it anymore.

Yes, it comes down to individual responsibility - but if you don't have proper primary coverage (or ANY for that matter) to monitor that high blood pressure or keep an eye on your blood glucose, all the self-care in the world won't prevent the inevitable: stroke or blindness, you take your pick.

RN1982 · Aug 28, 2009

The whole "health insurance only covers you when you get sick" is not a correct statement. My insurance covers preventative exams such as physicals and pap smears as do most insurance companies...which to me are preventative...It's up to the patient to take the initiative to get these exams.

allnurses Guide · Aug 28, 2009

In the eighties when health maintainance was first presented I thought it sounded good.

But a nurse who went to work for one of the major insurance companies came to realize that they only want to keep you healthy while you are paying them.

So they find a reason to cancel your policy on a technicality. Or don't authorize the time to educate you so you can keep yourself healthy because you are statistically likely to change your plan or retire. They don't care if you get sick after age 65.