Your Health is Your Wealth! Managing the costs of healthcare.

How to make more money by investing in yourself "The greatest wealth is health!"   I'm sure you've heard of that famous quote by Virgil.  In the past year, the health care debate was mentioned almost every day in the news and became part of our daily conversation.  As the economy tumbled, the costs of health care became even more apparent.  Job loss meant health insurance loss.  Employers started cutting costs by shifting health insurance costs to employees.  For the first time, people had to start including healthcare in their budget.  For a nation in which 1 in 3 individuals is overweight,  1 in 5 is obese and 1 in 10 have diabetes, these direct health care costs are expensive.  In a difficult economy or economic situation, you might be saying to yourself "Well, if I go see the doctor 2-3 times this month, that is going to cost me $300-$400 this month! I don't have that money!"  What we don't seem to realize is that if we don't invest in our own healthcare now, these costs are only going to rise. The perfect scenario to demonstrate the importance of investing in one's own health is a diabetic patient.  Here are just some of the statistics that show how expensive having a disease can be: The average health care costs for treating a diabetic patient is $10,000 a year (United Health Care); The average person with diabetes spends up to $900 a month for syringes, supplies, medicine and doctor's visits (The Cost of Diabetes); and The 15 year risk for a heart attack for a person with poorly controlled diabetes is 16.9%.  The costs over that period: $271,000 (The High Cost of Diabetes also a great website to see what happens if you don't take care of yourself; Your $15-$25 co-pay investment today will give you a $271,000 return "tomorrow"). Now, what does this mean to you?  Well, if you are a diabetic patient, or someone that has other chronic disease such as high cholesterol, hypertension, or hyperthyroidism (which are other expensive diseases), what could you do if you suddenly had $900 a month to do whatever you wanted or needed to do instead of spending on medicine, supplies and doctor's visits? Adding $900 a month to your monthly net income isn't a gimmick or get rich quick scheme. It can be done. Let's look at our diabetic patient example (based on an actual patient):   Prior to taking a proactive step, patient would come in every 2-3 weeks regularly or would only come in once every 3 months for medication renewal.  Diabetes Medication alone cost him $500 a month; After agreeing to work with us to help him,  the patient came in 4 times in the 1st month to jump start his plan which required initial longer, complex visits- Office Visit Avg $125- total $500 For the next 3 months after month 1, once the plan was in place and patient was proactively participating, we were able to reduce his visits to once a month. The once a month visits were to review his labs, check progress and start taking patient off of the diabetes drugs he no longer needed. At end of Month 2, patient reduced A1C to 5.7.  Office Visit Avg- $100, total for 3 months- $300 In month 4, patient had lost significant weight and maintained his A1C at 5.7 and was no longer on any diabetes medication.  Office Visit - $100.  Savings from reduction in medication- $500. Month 5's appointment was 3 months after month 4. Patient no longer had to have regular, complex office visits. Office Visit - $100 Next office visit in Month 8- $100  Next office visit, Month 11- $100  Total: $3,2000 Office Visits- $1,200 Medicine- $2,000 Total if patient decided not to invest in his health: $6,300 to $6,500 Office Visits- Range from $300 to $500 Medicine - $6,000 As this comparison shows, by investing in your health, you can save 50% or more just in your first year.  Imagine compounding the savings, or worse, the expense! Sure at first it may seem like it cost a lot more to do something about your health, but do the math, or talk to us about helping you do the math!   We think you are worth the investment. We hope you do too! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at aamer@avecinia.com.  If you would like to put together a plan, contact Colette Vaquilar, our Patient Specialist, at billing@avecinia.com.  She will be happy to help you invest in your health!  For daily updates on news, information and more on health care and wellness, join avecinia wellness center's facebook page (facebook.com/avecinia) and follow avecinia on twitter (twitter.com/avecinia4health). avecinia wellness center is Fresno's premier integrative medicine and wellness center. We combine internal medicine and primary care with health management, weight management, acupuncture, aesthetics (Botox, Juvederm, Radiesse, Obagi and more) and massage therapy for a holistic approach to health. We use a robust electronic health record program and patient web portal to enhance our delivery of services and to help our patients reach their optimal well-being. To learn more, visit www.avecinia.com. If you are looking for a primary care doctor in Fresno or the Central Valley and would like to become a part of the avecinia family, visit our website and click on new patient registration. Let Dr. Unaiza Hayat and/or Ali Kunkel, MPA, PA-C, become your trusted guides. Our Aesthetic, Weight Management, Acupuncture, Health Management and Massage Therapy services do not require us to be your primary care physician. Learn more at www.avecinia.com We look forward to meeting you!