Your Potential To Reduce Your Future Healthcare Costs

Many people worry about the cost of healthcare. At a time when employers are cutting back on health benefits and some retirement programs may not be able to meet their commitments, thinking about future health costs and how to meet them is wise. Right now, some people can’t afford to maintain the level of insurance coverage they have and are faced with difficult choices–even when they realize that health insurance is an important protection.

When people think of cutting their healthcare costs they often consider:

  • finding ways to reduce costs of medications
  • qualifying for employer or insurer discounts by achieving health lifestyle goals
  • lowering costs by changing health insurance coverage and/or deductible levels
  • avoiding out–of–pocket costs of medical care (e.g. deductibles) by reducing utilization of medical services
  • taking steps to prevent injuries (wearing seat belts, bike helmets, etc.)
  • taking other steps to avoid expensive episodes of care (e.g. hospitalization, surgeries)
  • reducing risks of future health problems related to progression of disease (e.g. a future heart attack if you have known cardiovascular disease)
  • shopping for cheaper procedures (colonoscopy, exams, etc.)
  • reducing future cost by taking preventive measures (usually through lifestyle change)

There are clear personal benefits to managing your health. For many people this may translate into significant financial savings. Yet, people do not all have the same disease risks. Some diseases and costs can not be prevented or easily managed. Hence, not everyone has the same opportunity.

Concentration of healthcare costs: The majority of disease risks in the U.S. (and associated financial costs) can be reduced and managed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. are tied to six disease areas: hypertension, heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and cancer. Many of the risks for these six diseases are preventable. In fact, risks for heart disease can be reduced by about 80% through lifestyle change. Once you have one of these six conditions, there may be things you can do to optimize your health and reduce future costs.

Over 60% of adults in the U.S. have an unhealthy weight that puts them at higher risk for all six of these conditions. If you smoke you are also at higher risk for most of these diseases. Risks for these conditions, and other diseases, can often be reduced by following simple health–lifestyle recommendations. These are typically inexpensive approaches that can have a tremendous impact on your well being, quality of life and finances.

Taking medications as prescribed is another way to optimize health. The cost of medications is problematic for many people. The potential cost savings of fully adhering to prescribed medications can be complex. We discuss this issue in more detail below.

During pregnancy risks of preterm birth can be reduced by healthy lifestyle choices, getting regular prenatal care and following medical recommendations.

If you currently do not have a chronic disease or condition such as high blood pressure, your best opportunity is obviously prevention. A good place to start is to discuss your potential health risks with your doctor. If you have risks, there are some things you can not change—such as risks associated with a family history of a disease or your age. (For some diseases, your risk increases as you get older.) However, there are many risk factors you may be able to manage by achieving or maintaining a healthy weight, stopping smoking if you smoke, getting recommended levels of physical activity every week, and so forth. Making these changes will typically help you prevent multiple health risks-some that your doctor may not have mentioned.

The More Than Surviving® programs currently only cover some of the major diseases and areas for reducing risks. You can find good information about other diseases, their risks and recommended risk reduction strategies on the internet. U.S. government web sites and disease association sites generally provide high–quality information.

If you currently have a chronic disease, your best primary course of action is to follow your doctor’s medical advice and treatments. Again, many disease-related costs and complications may be further reduced by improving the quality of the foods you eat, getting recommended levels of exercise, limiting alcohol consumption and other factors. Our programs can help you do this.

There are cases where it is possible to eliminate the need for some medications through lifestyle change. For instance, if you have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it may be possible to eliminate the costs of some medications if you lose 10% or more of your body weight and keep it off. This is not true for all people, though. The only time you should stop taking a medication is when your doctor sees changes in your hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc. and tells you to reduce or stop a medication. Depending on your insurance coverage, this may save some dollars. We highly recommend that you talk to both your doctor and pharmacist about ways to reduce your costs of medications. They may be able to help you:

  • find a safe and effective alternative medication that is much cheaper
  • find ways that you can purchase the same medication less expensively
  • identify a program or source of funding to help you pay for medicines
  • identify expensive medications you need that may be going “off patent” soon, which can reduce the price of that drug by up to 90%
  • determine medications which you do not need anymore and which medications are critical for your future health

The biggest benefit to making significant health lifestyle improvements is the potential to reduce risks of heart attack, stroke, amputation or other major complications. There is no guarantee that any of us will experience perfect health no matter how well we try to live, but, if we have a disease risk and have the opportunity to reduce it by up to 80%, reducing our future medical costs is only a small part of what we can enjoy.