Having health insurance is a start. Building an emergency fund is extremely important. Having a budget and sticking to it is pivotal to financial success. What about managing your health?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made preventative visits free but many still do not take advantage of this. My previous employer was voted as the healthiest employer in the state. This was mainly because of how they managed their health and wellness programs.

They incentivized managing your health by paying a wellness credit to any employee that has a yearly preventative care visit. I started my employment with a terrible case of pneumonia. The employer I left had a terrible health plan and each visit I made cost me close to $100. Several times I went to the doctor they misdiagnosed my pneumonia and so it went untreated for months.

The first thing I did when I received insurance was go to their clinic and was immediately put on a treatment plan that had me in recovery. Soon after I made my first appointment for preventative care.

A Regular Yearly Checkup

Why is important to have a regular yearly check up?

Having a regular checkup could allow your doctor to discover minor issues that if left untreated could become major health emergencies. Most of us take our vehicles in for routine care, so why do we not get our bodies checked up on a regular basis, especially if it is now mostly free?

A few years ago on a routine checkup, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was showing some symptoms but not enough to notice. Now I have my blood checked to make sure the medication is working. At one point I had quite a bit of anxiety. This is a side effect of both the disease and the medication and worked with my doctor to get it sorted out.

Had I let it go I may have been treating the symptoms and not the disease.

Early Detection Can Save Your Life and Your Wallet

Early detection is pivotal to a lot of treatment plans. My father had prostate cancer and it was detected early, treated correctly, and he went into remission. Now I get my prostate checked at regular intervals. This is true for a lot of cancer and other diseases.

Not only can it save your life but it can reduce the amount of money in treatment costs. When left untreated many diseases can cause other major problems and even trips to the emergency room.

My daughter had kidney stones last year. Like any teenager, she does not take care of her body the way it should be taken care of. For most teenagers, this may not be an issue, but someone that may be predisposed to kidney stones could be a problem.

When we discovered the issue we had already gone to urgent care, the emergency room, and a visit to the Children’s Hospital. The total cost of discovering the kidney stones: $875. Most likely this could have been prevented and saved us quite a bit of money.

Preventative Care Is Necessary

During another routine visit, my doctor noticed an issue with my heart. They performed an EKG and wanted to check if I had plaque built up in my veins. My cholesterol was a bit high and while my diet and fitness were great they were worried that my higher cholesterol was inherited.

They sent me for an ultrasound and a cardiac stress test and ultimately put me on a statin medicine. This will ultimately prevent a stroke or pulmonary embolism as I get older.

I have a few friends that have had strokes in the mid-40s and still have a long road to recovery. I would much rather have to take a daily medicine than to have to spend years in rehab learning how to walk again.

As indicated, costly medical bills can be avoided with routine care. Of course, when something is still unavoidable, having an emergency fund, an flexible spending account, or a health saving accounts can make the difference in how you recover.

Stress Can Have Additional Consequences

Money problems can add stress to an already fragile medical situation.

Take advantage of the yearly checkup. The ACA has made them free or almost free and you should be going yearly. Keep in mind, I say almost free, as there are some tests that may not be included in routine care. Discuss this with your doctor before they perform your tests to make sure they are covered. A surprise medical bill is never fun even if you do have the money to cover it.