Healthcare is getting more EXPENSIVE
Did you know, the average deductible health insurance in the United States is $2,000/year? To make it worse, the average American spends over $8,000/year on their health insurance premium.
Is health insurance a scam?
Nope! In many ways, health insurance is beneficial for the majority of us! However, for some of us, our deductible is $5,000-$10,000. What does this mean? You're most likely not going to meet your deductible unless a serious illness or surgery occurs.
What can you do about it?
Many practitioners are opening up cash based practices. Why? Because they don't allow insurance companies dictate what they can or cannot do with their patients. This leads to BETTER and FASTER outcomes for their patient. In essence, this saves you MONEY in the long run.
We're going to walk through 2 case scenarios:
Case scenario 1: Meet John. John has a deductible of $2,000 that he has to meet before his insurance company starts investing in his health. He recently strain his hamstring and his doctor prescribe him to go to physical therapy 2x/wk for the next 10 weeks. Each time he comes in, he has to pay $250/visit until he meets his deductible. After meeting his deductible, his insurance company will cover majority of the cost and all he has to do his pay a $50 co-payment for each visit.
To make the math easy on you, this is what John is paying per week:
Week 1: $500
Week 2: $500
Week 3: $500
Week 4: $500
Week 5: $100
Week 6: $100
Week 7: $100
Week 8: $100
Total of $2,400 within 8 weeks of physical therapy.
Case scenario 2: Meet Susan. Susan also strained her hamstring. She has a $3,000 health insurance deductible. So she didn't want to go through her insurance. Plus.. she heard from a friend that this amazing physical therapist down the street does an amazing job! Because the physical therapist gives her 1:1 treatment with hands on treatment and therapeutic exercises, he is able to get her back to running within 6 weeks. Each time she comes in, she has to pay $250/visit as a flat fee rate. Her physical therapist is requiring her to come in 1x/wk while doing a few exercises independently at home.
Let's break down the math:
6 visits x $250 = $1,500 within 6 weeks of physical therapy
These are two COMPLETELY different approaches. Susan in this case scenario not only saved money, but she saved time. The time she had to spend in the physical therapy clinic, the time that she had to take off of work, and the time she had to spend driving back and forth.
The moral of the story here is... There's not a one size fit all and it's not black and white. One thing we do know is that healthcare is not getting cheaper.
Here are 3 things you can do to protect your bank account:
1) Seek out a physical therapist to be a part of your life FOREVER. Yes, I said it. forever... A PT should be included in your monthly expense and you should be investing in your health. Whether it's for an injury, recovery session, post-operational care, or a tune up... you need a PT in your life. Preventative medicine is KEY.
2) Do your research. Who can get you fixed up the quickest? The best way is looking at the physical therapist's (or clinicians) background. What do they specialize in? Their experience with your specific injury? Would they actually care about you or is their clinic a revolving door for patient? Do they use the most up to date technique? Social media is everywhere in today's world. Go look them up!
3) Exercise. Whether is walking, lifting, joining a group fitness club, or doing pilates, we all need to exercise! Have you heard of the saying "sitting is the new smoking"? Well, it's true. Exercise is a preventative medicine itself that keeps you out of the doctor's office. If you've spend more time looking for different way on how to invest with your money.. you're doing it wrong. Start spending more investing in your own health and PUT YOURSELF FIRST.
**Disclaimer: This is to not prevent or discourage anybody from having health insurance. This is to educate the general population about different options and case scenarios that could end up saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
