U.S. Healthcare Issues – News, Affordable Health Insurance, and Editorials

On September 2010 some of the provisions of the healthcare reform law began to take effect. Among these provisions is a requisite that health insurance plans Medicare and Medicaid begin to cover routine preventive care without associated co-pay or deductible’s. This means that those who are covered by new plans that began after March 23 2010 may begin to receive regular preventive care such as routine physical examination mammography and colonoscopy with no co-pay or deductible essentially making these exams free of charge to the patient’s with coverage. This provision begins for individuals with private insurance on September 23 and is scheduled to begin for patients receiving Medicare and Medicaid on January 2011. Patients who previously had private insurance plans prior to March 23 will have to wait until renewal of their present plan or change in plan. The law provides for existing plans to be grandfathered in and patients will continue to be responsible for their co-pay and deductible in those plans. This revision with a grandfather clause has led to some confusion and uncertainty concerning how this provision will affect any one individual. Unless you are absolute certain how this law effects your individual insurance plan it is highly recommended that you contact your insurance provider to check your benefits. During this transition time it is certainly understandable that some confusion may exist and contact with your insurance provider is strongly recommended. Given the current status of most private plans the plans may undergo revisions or carriers are changed almost on a yearly basis. With the passage of time soon all American will come under this new provisional. The cost of co-pays and deductible’s has represented a significant barrier to undergoing this study for many individuals particularly in light of the rising deductible’s over the last few years. In light of the changes that recently been enacted these barriers to access have been largely eliminated and will be totally eliminated as all patients come under this new provision.

As you may or may not be aware these preventative healthcare measures and certainly colonoscopy our critical in reducing the incidence of colon cancer and other health problems. The study is recommended for individuals age 50 or above and then every 10 years after that. People who have a strong family history of colon polyps or colon cancer and patient’s of African American descent are advised to undergo the procedure earlier and this should be discussed with your primary care physician.

The study as a common procedure performed under IV sedation. The studies usually preformed in a hospital and endoscopy center for surgery center. With a new provisions and healthcare reform act it is anticipated that the demand for colonoscopy will increase markedly over the next few years. We have made preparations for this increasing demand at the Cushing colonoscopy center and her pleased to offer the services to patients in our service area.

The study is a short and painless procedure preformed under IV sedation. The study does require a complete colon preparation and cleansing prior to the procedure and this is somewhat uncomfortable but certainly tolerable. To accomplish this cleansing we usually recommend the patient take the afternoon off before the procedure although they may begin the prep at 4 or 5 PM the day before. Colonoscopy is usually performed the following morning. After the procedure there is usually some residual sedation and we recommend that the patient’s not engage in any strenuous physical activity or hazardous activity for the remainder of that day. Patient may resume normal activities the following day.

The study is safe and highly effective in reducing the incidence of colon carcinoma. As with all medical procedures there are certain risks associated with colonoscopy and this should be discussed with your physician and the surgeon or endoscopist performing the procedure.

I would highly recommend that all individuals over 50 years of age available himself of this new healthcare benefit and obtained there free colonoscopy after discussion with their primary care provider.

Thanks for taking the time to read this brief discussion describing some the benefits of the new healthcare reformat. I encourage you to be proactive in your healthcare and obtain your free colonoscopy at 50 and encourage other family members to do the same.

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