The price for not having your health is too high!
26/05/08 02:50 PM
On occasion, I am
confronted with the issue of people not wanting to
invest in their health by doing even the most basic
supplementation program. Even in the media there are
supposed "experts" who basically say, "Eat well, eat in
moderation, exercise, and you should be ok." Although I
vehemently agree with eating well and exercising, I
can't help but notice that individuals in society, in
general, are getting bigger and serious diseases appear
to be on the rise. Another statement that has been
floating around for a long time is, "People who take
supplements have expensive urine!" It really is
surprising to me that with all of the conclusive
studies on nutritional supplementation and its positive
health correlations that people could still think this
way!? The medical community has even somewhat
flip-flopped their previous views and now recommends
supplements to patients such as calcium,
multi-vitamins, and even omega-3 fatty acids. How is it
that these particular ones seemingly have some health
benefit, yet in their eyes the others don't? I can't
afford to wait for them to recognize what research has
already proven can help keep me healthy, can you?!
Recently, I had the rare occasions to go to the hospital to visit a friend and then a relative, each being treated for different forms of cancer. Walking through the hospital I realized that it had been several years since I had been in one, since my mother's hip replacement. Although I have spent a lot of time in my past volunteering in one, this particular visit made me understand why so many are afraid of hospitals. Walking in, I could instantly feel the weight of stress and fear culminating from the patients and their loved ones. Let's face it, there are very few things that bring us to the hospital that are joyous! I couldn't get the adage, "If you want to get sick, go to the hospital" out of my mind! (In fact, after writing this I learned that someone I knew passed away from a staph infection gotten in a hospital after a simple procedure!) I tried distracting myself from the stifling weight of it all by peering into the rooms while going down the long corridors. After seeing many different types of people of various ages and races on this brief journey I stopped to ponder the impact on their lives by this stay in the hospital. I wondered how many of their lives, at that moment, could have been different with some simple preventative care? Of course, I have no idea what many of these patients were in the hospital for, or if it could have been avoided. But, this experience did re-enforce that the cost of not trying to prevent ill health was too great for me.
I deal with people and their insurance companies on almost a daily basis, and unfortunately they don't always have the same goal in mind. Both want the insured to have health, but when health declines that's when the goals may begin to differ. The patient wants to get well at any cost, and since they are insured it is the insurance that must support that financial weight. The insurance, on the other hand, wants you to be healthy enough for the cheapest cost to them. The days of insurance supporting a doctor's opinion for what's in the best interest for the patient are over. The days of insurance covering all of the patient's medical expenses are quickly declining as well. People are beginning to accept major portions of their own medical expenses because the insurance companies say that they will not cover them. I have interviewed patients that spend hundreds of dollars a month on prescriptions because the insurance company will not cover them for various reasons. Plus, the insureds have to spend hundreds a month on the insurance that is not paying for their particular medications. So, when patients tell me that they cannot see spending money on high quality, pharmaceutical-grade supplements, I let them know that the expense of staying healthy is worth it! Paying to stay healthy is much better than paying because you are not!
Recently, I had the rare occasions to go to the hospital to visit a friend and then a relative, each being treated for different forms of cancer. Walking through the hospital I realized that it had been several years since I had been in one, since my mother's hip replacement. Although I have spent a lot of time in my past volunteering in one, this particular visit made me understand why so many are afraid of hospitals. Walking in, I could instantly feel the weight of stress and fear culminating from the patients and their loved ones. Let's face it, there are very few things that bring us to the hospital that are joyous! I couldn't get the adage, "If you want to get sick, go to the hospital" out of my mind! (In fact, after writing this I learned that someone I knew passed away from a staph infection gotten in a hospital after a simple procedure!) I tried distracting myself from the stifling weight of it all by peering into the rooms while going down the long corridors. After seeing many different types of people of various ages and races on this brief journey I stopped to ponder the impact on their lives by this stay in the hospital. I wondered how many of their lives, at that moment, could have been different with some simple preventative care? Of course, I have no idea what many of these patients were in the hospital for, or if it could have been avoided. But, this experience did re-enforce that the cost of not trying to prevent ill health was too great for me.
I deal with people and their insurance companies on almost a daily basis, and unfortunately they don't always have the same goal in mind. Both want the insured to have health, but when health declines that's when the goals may begin to differ. The patient wants to get well at any cost, and since they are insured it is the insurance that must support that financial weight. The insurance, on the other hand, wants you to be healthy enough for the cheapest cost to them. The days of insurance supporting a doctor's opinion for what's in the best interest for the patient are over. The days of insurance covering all of the patient's medical expenses are quickly declining as well. People are beginning to accept major portions of their own medical expenses because the insurance companies say that they will not cover them. I have interviewed patients that spend hundreds of dollars a month on prescriptions because the insurance company will not cover them for various reasons. Plus, the insureds have to spend hundreds a month on the insurance that is not paying for their particular medications. So, when patients tell me that they cannot see spending money on high quality, pharmaceutical-grade supplements, I let them know that the expense of staying healthy is worth it! Paying to stay healthy is much better than paying because you are not!