Keep Your Dollars in Your Pocket- Managing a Chronic Illness

Save money on your healthcare by properly managing chronic conditions. Yes, I’m going to suggest that you actually spend some healthcare dollars. Let’s look at some statistics first:

1. More than 40% of Americans have one or more chronic conditions and people with chronic conditions account for 75% of healthcare spending in this country according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.
2. About 58 million non-elderly adults have at least one chronic condition.
3. About 65% of people with chronic diseases are working age adults.
4. Unfortunately, Americans with chronic conditions get the recommended care only 50% of the time and less than 50% have their disease satisfactorily controlled
5. Only 50% of those with chronic conditions take their prescribed medication, and the cost of poor medication adherence is more than $100 billion annually in the US.
   
   Let’s talk about these numbers for a minute. 58 million Americans have at least one chronic condition and we are not, or choose not to receive the recommended treatment. We will talk more about that recommended treatment at another time, but once again, the medication issue has surfaced. Over $100 billion is WOW! A lot of money! I can’t really comprehend that amount of money. But, once again it is critical that we take our medications as prescribed.
   
   Let’s use the example of Congestive Heart Failure. There are multiple specific interventions crucial to managing heart failure in a controlled manner. One of those interventions will likely be to take medications that will keep excess fluid from building (a diuretic) and a medication to help the workload your heart must endure. If you wait until you are short of breath to take your diuretic, it then increases the workload on your already failing heart. It will likely contribute to a needed trip to the doctor or worse to the hospital ER. Do you get my point? By spending the money to buy your diuretic and then take it as prescribed, you are reducing the likelihood of a more expensive intervention. An additional benefit is you feel better and can enjoy more of life. If you cannot afford to purchase your medication, refer to one of my previous posts on that topic.
   
   I hope you choose to live life to the fullest and not let a chronic illness take you down. Most of the time, it is a conscious decision. Until next time, stay happy and healthy. You can contact me at alice@EZHealthCareOnline.com