SPONSORED BY:
HEALTH FOR LIFE

A Guide to Predicting Your Medical Future

Risk Management: You can't lower your age or upgrade your genes, but when it comes to assessing your health with the latest screenings, your fate is in your hands. Here are the best checkups to check out—and those you can skip.

Brian Finke for Newsweek
Health for Every Age: What you need to know to stay fit
 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

SPONSORED BY
 

18 to 34 Years Old
Regular tests may seem like a nuisance when you ' re young and healthy, but don ' t slack off.

WOMEN

Breast exams: Less than 2 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed in women under 34. At this age, the American Cancer Society (ACS) says, a monthly self-exam and a similar exam by a doctor every three years may be helpful. Other agencies stop short of recommending either exam on a regular basis, but the tests can establish a baseline for later.

Pelvic exam and Pap smear: Good news—cervical-cancer rates fell 17 percent between 1998 and 2002. Since half of cases are diagnosed between ages 35 and 55, and it takes 10 to 15 years for HPV to develop into cancer, it's important to catch abnormalities before they turn potentially malignant. Start getting a pelvic exam and Pap smear at 21, or three years after becoming sexually active (whichever comes first), and get retested at least every three years until 65.

Complete blood count: This test, which examines red and white cells, hemoglobin and other blood components, can diagnose anemia. The disorder affects about 12 percent of women of childbearing age. Detailed bloodwork, such as chemical or metabolic panels, is unnecessary, says Dr. James King of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Pregnancy: If you're trying to have a baby, you'll need many more tests. Ask your doc.

Label

Newsweek Top Stories
Visions of a Decade
Visions of a Decade

From 2000-2009, one photo per month.

The Failure of Copenhagen
The Failure of Copenhagen

Why there could be a silver lining in a failed climate treaty.

Sex Scandals of the 2000s
Sex Scandals of the 2000s

From John Edwards to Mark Sanford, the decade's memorable affairs.

118 Days in Hell
118 Days in Hell

A NEWSWEEK journalist recounts his captivity in Iran.

Discuss

Sponsored by

Member Comments

  • Posted By: edcmfood @ 08/03/2008 10:31:49 PM

    Nins @- Where are you getting your information from? I'd like to read further

  • Posted By: Nins @ 07/07/2008 12:03:57 AM

    Did you know that if McCain is elected you will have to pay income tax on the value of the medical insurance that your employer gives you? Worse still, he is offering a tax break for people who pay their own insurance, BUT only $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families.

    Let's say you have a family of four. Your insurance policy costs would be at least $1,500-2,500 per month under a self-pay plan, which cost more than employer group plans. So, you pay $18,000 -$30,000 per year for insurance, and you get to deduct only $5,000 of that. If you paid $25,000 for you insurance, you would be out of pocket $20,000 per year. This is FAR WORSE than the current system, where if you are self employed you can deduct 100% of you medical insurance costs.

    So, if you're not self employed, you would stick with your Employer's plan. Employer plans for a family of four have a value of $900-$1,500 per month totaling 10,800-$18,000 per year. Surprise! On April 15th, you owe tax on all of that as INCOME to you. Say your bracket is 25%, and the value of your Employer medical plan is $14,000. You will OWE THE IRS an additional $3,500, and that's ON TOP of whatever monthly premium you already pay to your employer for your insurance.

    Many analysts say that McCain's new rules would encourage employers to stop offering health benefits. If that happened, then far fewer Americans would be insured than are insured today, because what family of four can afford $18,000-$30,000 out of pocket per year for self-pay health insurance?

    Furthermore, McCain's plan does not require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions of people who self-pay their insurance. People under employer group plans have all of their pre-existing conditions covered. This is a hugely unfair aspect of the current system. Insurance companies can afford to cover the pre-existing conditions of the much larger pool of people with group insurance, but they refuse to pay the pre-existing conditions on the smaller pool of self-pay customers. They have been allowed to price gouge the self-pay customers, which is a form of market manipulation that should be illegal.

    So let's say one of your kids had diabetes and you have high blood pressure, then your employer stops offering insurance. You now have to buy your own, but you and your child are INELIGIBLE due to pre-existing conditions. Oh, yeah, they will let you buy the insurance, but you can't use it for any pre-existing condition until you have paid on time every month for two years. And you know what happens at one year and 11 months? You get a letter saying your policy has been cancelled. I have many patients this has happened to.

    McCain's plan SUCKS.

    It does nothing to help middle class working Americans afford or obtain medical insurance. In fact, it makes the current system WORSE.

  • Posted By: hek293 @ 05/21/2008 4:47:00 AM

    Nope - thank god for abortion!

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

My Take

Customize the NEWSWEEK homepage
to feature your favorite columnists.

Customize Now