Predicting Your Medical Future | Newsweek Health for Life

A Guide to Predicting Your Medical Future

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Nonfasting total blood cholesterol: High cholesterol is one of three important risk factors for coronary artery disease that you can do something about. (The other two are smoking and high blood pressure.) A complete lipid panel, which tests HDL, LDL and triglycerides, should start at 35 for men and 45 for women and be repeated every five years, according to federal health guidelines. People of both genders with risk factors for heart disease should start at 20.

Fasting blood-glucose test: This test, which determines how much sugar is in the blood, is often used as the first clinical indicator of diabetes. Although the USPSTF doesn't recommend that everyone get checked, the test can be used as a preventive measure in people over 40, or in younger people with heart conditions, obesity or family members with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends a test every three years. Lausier says that in the past, a glucose level over 120 was a diagnosis of diabetes and anything below was considered normal; now, a result between 100 and 120 is categorized as "pre-diabetes." A third of pre-diabetics advance to the full-fledged disease; it's possible to reverse the trend if it's caught in time.

Eye exam for vision: Eyesight starts to deteriorate around this age, so get tested if you think it's declining, or at least twice between 30 and 39, according to Lausier. People who need glasses, contacts or other forms of vision correction should get retested every two to four years, says King.

Eye exam for glaucoma: This condition starts to appear from age 45. It develops quickly, but can be managed medically and surgically. People at high risk are nearsighted, have diabetes, are African-American or have a family history. If you're in one of these groups, get tested during your eye exam.

50 to 64 Years Old
Doctors start screening for several diseases in healthy people after 50 without risk factors. Even if you feel fine, you should add new tests to your regimen, especially for cancer.

WOMEN

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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.

Member Comments

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

Nins @- Where are you getting your information from? I'd like to read further
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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.
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Posted By: hek293 @ 05/21/2008 4:47:00 AM

Nope - thank god for abortion!