Do You Have Health Insurance or Sickness Insurance?

Many times a prospective patient will call the office and ultimately ask, “Do you accept my insurance?”  As a member of my practice base, or perhaps soon to be a member, you’ll know the answer is “No, I am not an insurance based practice.”  And the reasons for that are numerous including what I will be discussing here momentarily.  AND the title of this article is the important question for you to consider before looking to use your insurance.  The understanding of which will allow you to make better decisions about your health and the type of insurance policy you choose.  I also hope to give you some questions to ask your current carrier or your prospective new carrier, and certainly your HR person at your place of employment. 

Health Insurance vs. Sickness Insurance

                I differentiate the two because there is a significant difference in each.  Health Insurance, as many people incorrectly think, is designed to help you maintain your health when you have a health concern.  This is far from accurate.  Most Insurance Companies hide behind a "benefit' that is nearly impossible to take advantage of.  And if the subscriber does get coverage, it is never as good as you believe it to be.  Most consumers believe that by having “health insurance,” they can go to a doctor or hospital and get whatever care is required to get them back to their pre-condition status.  Unfortunately, this is anything but the truth.  The true benefit of your health insurance policy is to bring you back to being “sickness free” and even that isn’t always honored.

                Sickness Insurance is what most people have, which is insurance designed to be used if you are sick or have some sort of symptom of disease.  And the coverage for the "sickness insurance" is designed to get you out of crisis and for the most part, that is about it.  It is not designed to get you to an ideal level of health.  In fact, it is not health insurance at all, as it is not designed to allow you to be healthy.  Therefore it should not be called “health insurance.” 

                What you need to consider is, in order for your insurance policy to kick in, you have to have a symptom of a problem.  Appreciate that in order to have a symptom, you have to have already lost 60 % of your normal function and be at 40 % or less.  What this means is to experience a symptom, the part of the body that has the pain or discomfort is really only functioning at forty percent of its capacity, at best.  And your insurance will pay for you to get to forty-one percent or perhaps as high as forty-five percent.  But it will never pay for you to be 100 %.  Therefore, you get to ask yourself a very important question related to your health: “Do I deserve to simply be symptom free and function at about 40 to 45 % of my capacity, or do I deserve better?”  And if you feel you deserve better than 40 to 45 % of what you are capable of, what are you willing to do in order to get it? 

                Responsibility is a tough thing for some.  And yet we all have to take control of our lives.  And believe it or not, it starts with your health.  When your health is good, not just symptom free, you enjoy your life.  If something comes up that is not to your liking, you can usually overcome it without much difficulty, as everything is working well.  When you are not well and your health is letting you know with different symptoms, your days and your life are anything but fun.  And if you are confronting that right now, it all comes back to ownership.  Being responsible for your health and the functioning of your body will require you to get back to taking ownership of your body. 

                Taking ownership of your body means to do several of the following:  Eat healthy foods, drink plenty of natural spring water throughout your day, avoid caffeine and high fructose corn syrup drinks, exercise several times a week, get proper amounts of sleep, breathe properly to keep everything moving.  Also develop a mindset that keeps your health in focus.  Equally important is for you to have someone who can help you monitor your health levels so you can maintain the highest level of functioning possible.  We’re talking about being closer to 100 % of your capacity compared to the 40 to 45 % your insurance company will allow you to be.  So the next circumstance to face is how do I get my insurance policy to pay for my health?   If you’ve been paying attention, your insurance policy will not pay for your health and will not pay for you to be healthy.  This means you have two options:

1)      You can begin to develop a plan to help improve your current level of health and function and continue to focus your attention their regularly through developing habits and routines to support your health.

2)      You can figure out a way to live with increases in health issues as you go forward with your life.  After all, if you are hovering around 40 to 45 % of your capabilities, it is only a matter of time before your functioning will dip below the magic 40 % threshold.  And at that point you will be able to use the insurance you pay for to allow you to get back to above 40 %. 

Which do you choose?

                If you’d like some help developing a health plan for yourself, you have several options available to you:

1)      You can buy my new book called “When Your Health Matters: Using Your Body’s Natural Rhythms To Restore Your Health.”  This 252 page volume is 12 months worth of healthful and helpful information designed to help restore and maintain your health one organ or gland at a time depending on the month we are in and the season we are moving through.  It is available for purchase through the office.  Simply call 845-561-BACK or 561-2225 for information.

2)      You can come to a FREE Health Care Class every Tuesday evening to get some hands on experience with me as I discuss all the topics contained in the book and help to evaluate the participants each class.  There are 50 classes total throughout the year and are given every Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm at the Newburgh Office.  Simply call 845-561-BACK or 561-2225 for reservations.  Since class size is limited, we do ask you to make reservations as my personal guest.

3)      You could tune into my Thursday Morning Radio Show that airs on 920 AM, 1260 AM or 1420 AM beginning at 9:02 AM.  Each week I discuss the same information I do in my book, in my Tuesday evening FREE Health Care Class and in my new book, “When Your Health Matters: Using Your Body’s Natural Rhythms To Restore Your Health.

4)      You could e-mail me directly at docrick@spineboy.com which goes to my home.  Therefore I usually answer them before 7 am or after 7 pm when I am home from work.  Many people who are from all over the country e-mail me and may never actually come to see me, and that is O.K. 

5)      Finally, you could simply call me directly at (845)561-BACK or 561-2225 and we can talk about any of your health issues and what you can do to help yourself. 

Regardless of which way you choose, please take the time to understand what your insurance policy does or does not do for you and then take the time to develop a plan.  Consider consulting with me for your health care needs and never have to deal with activating your “sickness policy.”  I look forward to helping you.