Hospital Highlights - Coming soon: preventive care without out-of-pocket costs

Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes are responsible for about 70 percent of American deaths and account for 75 percent of the nation’s spending on health care. Many of these diseases are preventable, yet Americans use preventive health services at about half the recommended rate. The low use rate is often due to financial reasons such as insurance deductibles and co-pays.

The good news is that your physician and Whitman Hospital will soon be able to make many services available to you at no out-of-pocket cost if you have insurance or Medicare. If you enroll in a new health plan on or after Sept. 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act requires your insurance company to cover recommended preventive services without charging a deductible, co-pay, co-insurance.

Medicare will begin covering these services Jan 1, 2011.

Depending on age and health risk factors, out-of-pocket costs for the following services may be zero.

* Blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol tests

* Many cancer screenings to include regular pap smears, mammograms for women over 40 and colonoscopies for persons 50 – 75 years old

* Counseling on topics such as quitting smoking, losing weight, eating better, treating depression and reducing alcohol use

* Routine vaccines for measles, polio, meningitis, flu and pneumonia

* Counseling, screening and vaccines for healthy pregnancies

* Regular well-baby and well-child visits

To learn more about your coverage contact your insurer. To learn about the services now required by law, go to http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preventive/index.html

David E. Womack, CEO

Whitman Hospital and Medical Center