The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has brought a lot of changes in the health insurance industry. Depending on who you talk to some of these changes can be good or bad. One thing that is usually universally agreed upon as a positive change is that insurance companies are no longer allowed to deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. Another positive is that plans considered to be creditable coverage offers preventive care at no cost to the member! Health is wealth and taking preventive actions to ensure you stay healthy is the best way to avoid an illness or an issue in the future. Also, it is important to note that preventive services will only be fully covered when seeing a doctor or medical provider that is in your plan’s network.

What is preventive care?

Preventive care is typically a procedure that is done to detect or prevent an illness or condition. Preventive health care can be anything from screening for diseases such as diabetes to screenings and counseling for alcohol misuse and tobacco use.

Breakdown

Preventive care is typically broken down into three groups, adults, women, and children. Depending on your age and/or gender, different procedures can be considered preventive care. For example, children have certain screenings to test for conditions that aren’t needed as an adult, such as an autism screening. Further, while adults are able to be covered for certain preventive services, women may need some services that are not needed by men for procedures such as a Pap smear. For more information on what procedures are deemed preventive care for each group, visit HealthCare.gov.

Why is preventive care important?

Just because you feel 100% healthy, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be taking advantage of regular check-ups. Part of staying healthy is catching issues before they arise or early enough to correct them. There are many conditions that don’t offer early symptoms such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The only way to see if they are at healthy levels is to check them regularly. We can’t stress enough that everyone should be using preventive care!

Some things to be aware of

While receiving preventive care should be free thanks to the Affordable Care Act, there are some things you should still be aware of. First, if something is found during your screening, any treatment you receive to help your condition won’t be “free”. You will be required to pay for further treatments according to your insurance plan. Also, in some cases there must be a valid reason to receive fully covered preventive services. You either must be due for one, like women 40 and over receiving a mammogram every 1-2 years (per HealthCare.gov) , or a doctor must prescribe it.

For more information about job based benefits, read our previous blog, What You Need to Know about Company Sponsored Insurance Benefits ”. Sometimes there are things in your plan that you don’t understand, or words that you have never heard before. Your well-being is important to us, and part of that is making sure you are properly taken care of. Our insurance specialists have the knowledge and experience to assist your group in finding the best Employee Benefits plan for your budget. If you are interested in purchasing a disability plan, health insurance, or life insurance, contact us at mhginsurance.com or call us at +1 954 828 1819.