Thursday, November 13, 2014

We're taking charge of our health.

Health is wealth. It may sound like a cliché but nothing else matters if you’re not healthy or won’t be able to afford quality health care for your family. Being government employees (hubby is a federal and I am a state employee), I would say one of the perks of having these jobs is the health insurance coverage, most especially Montana State employees. In addition to the State’s contribution towards our insurance policies, we even have nice health centers where State employees and their families can visit 100% free of charge. No co-pays thus no out of pocket expenses. My 3-year old gets sick very often and I always take him there. If they need to run more tests like lab tests, X-rays, ultrasounds and such, they will refer the patients to the bigger hospital in town. And the best part of it is that it’s absolutely free. I didn’t have to pay a dime when they did an ultrasound scan on my gallbladder when they suspected it to have stones. My little munchkin recently had a bad wheezing cough that lasted for weeks and they had to XRay him and we didn’t get charged for it because the state health center ordered the test. I mean it’s absolutely amazing health coverage that Montana provides to their employees.

On top of that, we have free health coaching, free dietitian, once a year free eye checkup, free preventive screenings such as cervical cancer screening, mammography, well-child care, routine immunizations, diabetes screening and more, all provided by the State to its hard working employees. Why does the state dump so much money investing for their employees health? (one may ask) It’s quite simple. Because an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. In the long run, the state can save a lot of money with the health care insurance expenses if they stay on top of their employees’ health issues. Definitely makes sense! And so because of that, I think we are very lucky. But that doesn’t mean if you’re not government employed, you can’t have great insurance providers as well. You’re just gonna have to do your research and find a great agent for health coverage that’s gonna help you meet your health care needs without spending a ridiculous amount of money.

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