Do you have health insurance? Use it!!

Optimistic Opportunity #4: Americans blessed with health insurance deserve to take advantage of preventative care opportunities.

Americans hear about the millions of uninsured every minute, never the millions of insured. Our country holds a tremendous opportunity to improve the health and lives of millions of insured Americans.

If you have health insurance, use it! Go to the doctor when you are well! Simple preventative exams, tests, and procedures can save billions of dollars for individuals and the nation. Furthermore, simple preventative exams can obviate catastrophic life changing events that disrupt quality of life, financial security, and families.

3 Simple Preventative Tests everyone should have:

1. Blood pressure: my husband discovered his elevated blood pressure when he was only 22! Over the years, he was able to make modifications and today his blood pressure is within a healthy range! Imagine the physical and financial implications that would exist had he waited until he was 50 to discover he had lived with elevated blood pressure for 28 years?

2. Cholesterol panel: one of my good friends has elevated cholesterol thanks to genetic inheritance! Fortunately, she can adjust her nutrition and develop a plan for future medication management because she obtained her cholesterol numbers early in her life! 

3. Annual physical exam: Why wait until your heart stops, you can’t breathe, you can’t move to talk to your doctor? Why wait until your pain is so severe that you cannot enjoy your friends and family to talk to your doctor? Why wait until you need 14 prescriptions, 4 surgeries, and 6 pieces of medical equipment to talk to your doctor?

Yesterday, my friend received her application for COBRA insurance; she called me astounded! Do you want to know the cost of the COBRA plan AFTER the American Investment Recovery Act reduction?? $700+ per month; almost the cost of some people’s mortgage payments! The crazy reality is that she is a healthy, young, and educated woman. The probably of her spending $700 in health care per month is highly unlikely.

So we ask ourselves….why do we have to pay so much for our health care? One answer (multiple factors play into cost): people who can choose to obtain their preventative care do not. They wait until their conditions are acute, costly, and unmanageable, and they end up spending four times more money and losing five times the quality of life along the way. Insurance companies and the health care system cover the cost of sick individuals through premiums well individuals.

Unfortunately, as a nation, we cannot continue to accept the rising costs of healthcare. Young people cannot afford to pay $700 per month in healthcare, our seniors cannot afford $700 per month in healthcare, my parents cannot afford $700 per month in healthcare. We are all in this together. Healthcare is a cycle that affects everyone. If you have health insurance, use it! Go to the doctor, obtain your recommended screenings. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your neighbor, do it for your children, your grandchildren….heck, do it for me and my friends!

Delicious Turkey Soup!

1 tablespoon olive oil


½ cup minced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon oregano

4 cups water

1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato soup (less than 200mg sodium)

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (less than 50mg sodium)

1 cup salsa (use home made salsa recipie)

4 cups shredded cooked turkey

1 tablespoon dried parsley

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 (14 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained

2 cups frozen corn

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onions and cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.

Stir in water, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salsa, shredded turkey, parsley and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until bouillon cubes dissolve. Add black beans, corn, and cilantro. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.