Last month I had my annual physical. It is covered under my HDHP with Humana. Well, most of it is. They covered the basic office visit, plus because I am of a special age, they covered the… ahem…prostrate exam. I have to say, that was awkward.
Anyway, if you are just stepping into the world of HDHPs, “let me be perfectly clear” when the plan says it covers “well care” that means it covers your physical. Now insurance companies are kind of squirrely when it comes to what exactly they cover in the physical, but in my case it was pretty much the visit and the prostate extravaganza. Extra stuff like lab work and ECGs in my case, were not covered. But here’s the thing, if you were paying for all that stuff out of your pocket without insurance at all you would probably go into shock if you had to pay the entire nut.
Even if you have a high deductible health plan, you get the benefit of negotiated rates, which can be pretty significant. If I had been a contestant on the Price is Right, trying to guess what the cost of the physical was and the cost of the lab work, “the actual retail price” of those babies would have been $1284.90. But after the insurance discount I paid 104.84 out of my pocket. For my money, peace of mind and general health, a hundred and some change seems reasonable to me.
So why well care? Because it’s like basic maintenance on your car, which could prevent serious problems later on. If you have a HDHP, the insurance discount can make the price of it affordable. And if you have an HSA you can pay for it from your HSA either now, or let your HSA grow and pay yourself back later.
That’s why well care.
