You and the U.S. Health Care Crisis: How is the Health Care Crisis affecting you? Better yet, how are you affecting it?

Greetings,

This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). We should rejoice because we are still here in the land of the living. But I wonder, how many of us can truly rejoice and celebrate living free from sickness and disease?

There’s a health care crisis going on in the United States today, as if you didn’t know that already. In this edition of By His Stripes, I would like to talk about some aspects of this crisis that you may be affected by and some possible solutions.

I know the buzz is centered on major medical insurance and socialized medicine. I’m going to leave that discussion up to them for now. I want to discuss with you some areas of health care that are vital to our overall health, but may be vastly overlooked. My intention is to also offer valuable information on alternative solutions that can be taken advantage of today, even in the midst of the crisis. In this edition, we will address Dental Care.

Statistics show that 8 out of 10 Americans want, but cannot afford, a good dental plan. They not only want, but need a good dental plan, and an affordable one. The average dental insurance plan costs a family of four about $150.00 per month. It has a deductible of $1000.00 that must be met before the dental insurance will cover any portion of treatment. Once the deductible is met, you have a 20% co pay and the dental insurance company has to determine what will or will not be covered. These are called restrictions and exclusions. It must also be said that there is a maximum dollar amount of coverage provided by dental insurance, as well as a maximum number of visits per year. If you have a pre-existing condition, you now have a waiting period, although you are paying your premium every month. This waiting period is usually six (6) months. The dental insurance plan may or may not cover services provided by a specialist that does not exceed the maximum spending limit. Orthodontics for adults is rare, if not out of the question. Oh, and the members of that family of four must be related by blood and/or marriage and under a certain age.

Now that you’ve jumped all those hurdles, your dentist has to hire a Medical Billing Specialist to file claims paperwork so he can be informed of what the dental insurance company will pay for the services provided. This will seem like an exaggeration to some, but it’s not at all. So, what do most American’s do? As my Bishop says, I’m glad you asked. They go without dental benefits, especially in these times of economic hardship.

When this happens, many families end up enduring the pain of unhealthy teeth and gums which lead to gum disease. If someone is experiencing a toothache, eventually they will have to go to the doctor to have it addressed. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a tooth ache, but to me, it’s right up there next to labor pains. I personally know of someone who ended up in the Emergency Room because the pain of a tooth ache was so great. You and I know that there is nothing that can be done in the Emergency Room, but prescribe pain pills and an antibiotic, if needed, and send them home. This person took drastic measures to get some sort of relief for their pain. With that said, think of the cost of that Emergency Room visit. Someone has to pay for it. This happens all the time. Maybe not with tooth aches, but with other types of sickness, hence your health care crisis.

As you know, behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining, if you’re looking for one. There are alternative dental plans available for you that will not only help you accomplish the goal of keeping your family with a healthy smile, but save you money in the process. So here’s your silver lining.

I have found that people sometimes frown upon discount-fee-for-service plans because they really don’t understand how to use the plan and they don’t realize the money they will save by using the plan. They get turned off by the fact that it is not traditional insurance. This is not a bad thing. One of the advantages of a discount-fee-for-service plan is that it is not regulated by the Department of Insurance; therefore the cost is more affordable. In an edition of Parents Magazine, there was an article titled, 25 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare. The third option discussed in this article is “Join a Discount Club”. Discount-Fee-For Service plans do not have the restriction of tradition dental insurance plans either. Most of the time it doesn’t matter what your family make up looks like. The structure of a traditional family has now changed in this day and age. We now have grandparents as well as other relatives and non-relatives living in the same household. A discount-fee-for-service plan accepts every member of the household and the cost is not determined by the number of household members.

There are other advantages of joining a discount club. The age of the household members would not be considered. There is no open enrollment so you can join at any time. There are some discount-fee-for-service plans that have no contract so; you can cancel at any time, if needed. There is no limit on the number of visits and no waiting periods associated with some plans. But the thing that I like most of all about joining a discount club is you can save anywhere from 25% to 80% on the services rendered by a dentist in the network. This is great!! Talk about a silver lining. I believe this can help lots of people stay healthy during these tough times because they can control the spending of their money and still get quality dental care from highly qualified dentist. Now, what kind of affect is the health care crisis having on you?

In closing, if we take the time to investigate all the alternatives that are available to us, we may find that it is much easier to live during economic distress. It’s all about your perspective. Is your glass half empty or half full?

Stay tuned for Part II of By His Stripes: You and the Health Care Crisis where we will continue our discussion on how you affect the health care crisis as well as how it affects you. We will take a look at vision care. Until then, God bless you. Give yourself away in the form of a gift. Look around to see who you can help today. Show some love as you pass someone’s way. By this, all men shall know you are my disciples (John 13:35).


T.J. Robinson

P.S.

My glass is completely full with half water and half air. Remember, it’s all in how you look at it!